Love and Order
by xUnicornsRulex
Summary: Six years later,Tia has settle into a new life. But all harmony turns chaotic when an old friend needs help, followed by the arrival of old friends and an unexpected twist of fate when an odd reunion takes an sudden twist.
1. The Courtroom

"Your honour, permission to treat the witness with hostility." A petite woman in her late twenties and white blonde hair demanded, marching back to her table with a source of energy that could terrify an elite military group and grabbed the source of paper she needed. Her shoes echoed around the large oak walls of the court. It walls carved with splendid decoration and the words to the law written along the top of the columns. There was a slight buzz of conversation between journalists and interns watching from behind the short wall the blocked them off from the debate that was happening right in front of them.

"Permission granted." The lawyer heard the old judge with a balding head and in his late fifties answer. Over a week ago, police found evidence that Lord Maxwell (a corrupted crime lord) had smuggled over half a billion worth amount of drugs, slaves and private weapons, it was only later that the investigators found out that Maxwell had slaughter the crew to keep them silent. Whatever, reason he had brought them for Tia didn't want to know but it was her job to finish him off and lock this sick bastard behind bars where he belonged. Ten minutes before the court session began the defence lawyer (Marvin Dent) had come up with a surprised witness. She tried her best to get rid of him but ten minute warnings were enough. Dirty little trick! Tia cursed at the snake dressed up in a Italian suit and called himself a lawyer, as she undid the top button of her shirt to tried and calm herself down in the warm room but with no success, a cold bead of swear dripped down her forehead. For fifteen minutes the people's attorney had to listen to this druggie off the streets say that he was the master mind behind all of it. They could have at least found someone better, the blonde woman considered to herself. This is nothing more than a waste of time! The ambassadors daughter though. As more and more questions were being asked and unanswered, Tia's feelings towards the witness turned from annoyance to suspicion. What's really going on? Tia wondered, knowing there was more to it than just wasting her time. Grabbing the two pieces of paper she was looking for; bonus an extra pen and paper, she made her way over to the witness stand.

"Write your signature on this please." She ordered, barely keeping the politeness in her voice. The drug addict took a moment to catch up with reality before following her instructions. Once he was done, Tia showed the difference between the witnesses signature and Maxwell signature on the contract. After explaining to the jury that the two signatures were too different to come from the same man.

"Your honour I object." Mr Dent stood up from his seat, the man's slimy, clear voice echoing through the large chamber room. "I can honestly say say the signature on that contract does not match his signatures on our agreements." A sly smirk appeared on his face like he thought he had just won; really he had just fallen into Tia's trap.

"Really Mr Dent?" The woman answered sweetly, holding up the other piece she had with her to the jury. "This signature was signed by Maxwell last night at the club just around the corner." She smiled, grabbing a list her assistant had just handed to her and placed it on the judges desks. "This is a list of witnesses that can testify that the signature..."

"Objection your honour!" Mr Dent rudely interrupted again and also approached the judges desk. Before he had a chance to protest his clients rights, Tia spoke.

"I must remind Mr Dent that the evidence I have collected is supported by analyst experts and witnesses that have all been used in lie detectors tests, meaning whatever Maxwell's signature used on his agreements were false and has no claims to any civil rights acts." The information that Tia had given left the room in silence, as they waited for the high court's decision.

"Miss de Medic is corrected Mr Dent, the evidence will be allowed to stand in court." The judge happily informed Tia. Now all we have to do now is pray, she thought to herself, as the junkie was taken off the stand and back to the seating area where the other witnesses sat (though the other people here to give testimony tried to move away from him because he smelt so bad) meanwhile, the jury members left the room to debate their decision and the judge left to get a quick cup of coffee. The lawyer had spent most of her own money and time securing the protection of the jury members and their close family and friends. Not to mention, getting the right men and women to guard these people. It was rumoured that Maxwell had dirty cops working the system and Tia was having no chances letting them get to those people discussing the crime lords fate; whether through threats or money. At the moment she tried to sit back in her chair and looked relaxed so it didn't seem like she was stressed or worried – especially in front of her opposition. It didn't really help that the lord was sending her dirty lustful looks; it was common information that Lord Maxwell liked roughing woman up. If she wasn't in a court room right now she would have thrown her middle finger up at him. Please, please, please, the young lawyer begged secretly within herself, as she waited for the jury members to make a decision. It seemed like hours had shot past but in reality it had only been about twenty minutes for the men and women come back into the room. Everyone stood up as they waited for the jury to settle back in and for the judge to reclaim his chair. "Have the jury reached a verdict?" The old man in charge called out for the hundredth time in his career. The blonde lady watched frantically as she watched the dark skinned woman at the far end of the bench stand up. The jury member was in her let forties, a mother of two heading towards twelve years of marriage next month and a nurse at Genesis Hospital. The woman was tough and Tia liked her a lot.

"We do your honour." The woman's smooth voiced floated over the hall. Unable to keep her hands under control, Tia brushed a strand of blonde hair behind her ear but she could feel her assistant next to her could not easily hide her anxiousness as well as Tia could. Poor girl, Tia thought, as she took a deep breath and watched the woman in front of her unwrap the piece of paper that held the answers in front of her. "We find the defendant, Ronald Maxwell guilty on three different accounts of violations against human civil rights, smuggling and first degree murder." Sighs relief echoed through the hall after hearing this. A large smile of triumph spread across her face from ear to ear. What she really wanted to do was jump up and down with joy but reminded herself that she a reputation to maintain. However, if she had the time later she might sneak off to the bathroom and do a happy dance there. The only people in the room that weren't happy at the moment were Mr Dent and his client. Sneaking a quick peek over to the two wealthy men she could see that they were already discussing ways of getting them out of the situation. Good luck next time, Tia hummed to herself, as she was forced to shake everyone's hand. It was now modern day procedure to go to the eye witness bench and shake everyone's hand. Why couldn't it just be like the old days? Tia whined, as she put on a fake smile and tried to see friendly goodbyes and thank you's to all the people. Her last person was the drug addict. The woman's instinct went on high alert when you noticed the man's change. His once calm manner had been replaced by a quivering wreck. Withdrawal symptoms maybe? Tia wondered as she held her as she held her hand out to shake. At first she thought he was raising his hand to shakes hers but when his hand came into full view her eye went wide with realisation as she caught a full glimpse of the gun. Luckily, the young woman was trained in self-defence and the man was so high he couldn't aim straight, giving the blonde lawyer enough time to quickly disarm him. No one had realised what had happened at first, until they heard the cries of the man being dragged away by two strong guards and Tia was walking over to the defendants table; disarming the gun as she approached the two men.

"Next time Maxwell." Tia smirked, as she slammed the small gun on to the table in front of the man who had claimed for her death. "Find someone that's able to hold a gun." Hissing venomously at the men before grabbing the rest of the stuff walked out of the court room.

"Mum, dad, seriously I'm fine." Tia barked down at the holo-phone for a millionth time as she marched the hallway towards the conference room. It had only been a few hours since she had finished her court case and she had already receive a dozen calls from friends and family asking if she was unharmed. It seemed that her amazing skill to nearly be shot in a court room for the third time that year was more important to the newspapers then Maxwell being sent to prison. I give and I give until I can give not more, Tia recited in her head as she listen to her parents ask her the same question again. "Seriously I don't need any help... yes Conner and I are excited to... mum got to go got a meeting phone you soon, love you, bye." A huge sigh of relief escaped her mouth as she snapped the phone shut. Truthfully, she loved them to bits but they were just so over protective. Now all she had to worry about was this sudden meeting that had popped out of now where. One minute she was cleaning up her desk to go home when and the next her assistant was running in telling her she had to go to a meeting and there was no way she could refuse because all of the top people of her company were going to be there. The two men beside the double doors smiled at her as they open the doors allowing her entrance. The room was plainly decorated with large glass windows and a round table where many people sat around it. "Sorry I'm late." Tia apologises as she took the last seat remaining.

"That's all right Miss de Medic we were just getting started." Davis smiled from the top of the table -you could tell he was higher than anyone because he sat in a fancy chair compared to the other chairs in the room. Grabbing out her pen and notebook, Tia looked up to see Thran giving a disapproving shake of the head before sending her a huge smile. She quickly return the smile with one of her own and then focused on her boss was about to say. "Before I start I would just like to congratulate Miss de Medic for her latest trail, very impressive stuff." The handsome man in his late forties grinned at her. Everyone else in the room clapped their approval (some more frantic then others) before Davis silence them again. Tia just gave a quick bow of her head to let them know she was grateful for the thanks before turning her attention back to the main focus. "The reason I have just called you here under such short notice about an important case I have just received." Mumbles of wonder echo through the room as lawyers and head of departments whispered to each other. The only thing the blonde lawyer did was send an interested glance across the table to her friend.

"What kind of case sir?" Mr Dent asked, obviously enthusiastic to grab on to this case before anyone else in the room. Will he ever change? Tia cursed to herself and reading Thrans face could see he was having similar thoughts himself.

"One of the biggest we've ever receive." Davis announced, making everyone's attention turned to the head man again. Turning all serious and business like again, the boss flicked on the projected to show the people crime scene photos and woman plaster along the walls before her continued with his speech. "As you may or may not know, in the last three weeks five pregnant were threaten and raped but our latest vitamin disappeared." What Davis was saying made Tia completely confused, sure what had happen to those woman were terrible but they had received much bigger cases beside that one. There must be more to it? She wondered, as the head of her firm continued. "A few days ago police were able to find a witness who saw the last attack and the man response for it, I'm sure you know him quite well." A without a second of hesitation the man clicked on the next slide to show a photo of Sonny Blackbones. Everyone gasped in disbelief.

"Sir, it couldn't be him, Sonny Blackbones is a pirate leader, they steal things and do anything to annoy Technoid there's no way he could have just suddenly become a rapist." Tia call out to defend the man's innocence (that and the fact she was a secret big fan of Sonny Blackbones) as was Thran and some of the other people in the room who were nodding their heads to what she had just said. Then a huge debate carried out along the table between everyone, poor Davis had to shout at the top of his voice to get everyone to silence.

"I know this seems strange that's why I'm appointing the best to the case." The rich lawyer announced. Some of the lawyer's backs went a little straighter as they tried to look better than the rest of them; including Mr Dent who looked more desperate then proud. "With an outstanding record of eighty-two per cent of solved case, which is high above the average forty-nine per cent I'm awarding this case to Miss de Medic." He pointed straight to her and flashing his perfect white teeth into a smile, nearly blinding some of the people sitting closest to him. Some people clapped but all Tia could do was sit there with her mouth hanging open.


	2. Blackbones

"D'jok is not going to be happy about this." Thran comment as he and Tia made their way out of the conference room and back to their offices. As they left the room the blonde lawyer got a number of stares from the different lawyers that had been in the room also; some looks were full of jealousy and others had expressions of relief.

"Of course he's not going to be happy about this!" Tia snapped back at him, despite being in a crowded whole way but she was able to withhold back her thoughts on why the man they had just mentioned would not be happy. The woman wished she could do something for him but she hadn't spoken to her former team mate for over six years and had no form of communications with him. How times have change? The ex-midfielder champion wondered as her mind thought back to her younger days and all the advantages she had been on. Part of her missed it but she was happy with her new life and a special someone in her life made her think she would not change it for the world. A smile spread on her face as she thought about them but her mind snapped back to her work very quickly as her brain focused on what she was going to do about this case. She somehow needed to prove Sonny innocent but she wouldn't be receiving the case file until Sunday afternoon and that was almost two whole days away.

"Oh! Before I forget, Tessa wants me to remind you that you're trying out the dresses for the wedding before dinner next Friday." The former defender asked, making Tia mentally slapping herself on the head; she thought she would get away with it. There was nothing she could do since she did promise and it was wedding dress shopping so looking for a dress what actually important this time. Besides, they were close friends; it was her duty; at least that was what Tessa thought. "There's also something else I need to talk to you about." The Japanese man added nervously, grabbing his friends fall attention.

"What is it Thran?" She inquired, hoping it was nothing serious. Watching him carefully, she noticed that her old friend had begun to biting his lower lip (something that Tia had learn to recognise when he was nervous about something) as he tried to find the words he wanted to say to her.

"I was wondering, would you be my best man for the wedding?" He suddenly blurted out unexpectedly. If Tia wasn't so use to having surprises being thrown on to her, she would not of successfully stopped herself from falling over her shoes and would of smacked her head against the cold marble floor of the office building. After regaining her foot work, she stopped dead and just looked at her friend like he was crazy.

"Thran, I'm flattered really but I just don't think I'm up for the job." She admitted to him. Not to mention it was supposed to be a man's job, she secretly thought to herself but refused to say it allowed.

"I sorry, I shouldn't have asked, it's just..." Again the former Snow Kids player began biting the bottom of his lip as she tried to think about what he was trying to say. "It's just we've become really good friends over the years and there's no one else I would really ask except Ahito and he's..." As soon as the man thought of his twin brother he choked on his words. The other former football player tried to hold back the tears in eyes as she also thought of her old sleepy goalie. Gently, she placed a soft hand on her friends arm as she rubbed it slightly for comfort. Looking at each other, a coded message that only they could understand transferred through their eyes as they both mourned their old team mate.

"I'll happily be your best woman Thran." Tia smiled sadly, as she patted his arm. The defender turned his head away quickly -probably to stop the petite woman from seeing his watery eyes- before looking back at her again with a large, fake grin placed on his face to cover up what he was truly thinking. Her heart went out to her old comrade but she remained silently, knowing that if he wanted to talk about it he'll either bring it up later or talk to Carrie about it.

"Anyway, the kids are excited seeing you and Connor tomorrow." Thran winked, his face glowing a bit more as he thought are the two little joys in his life. Tia could only smile as saw his face light up. "Anyway, I better get back to the office." He suddenly said as the two co-workers came to three separating hallways. With a quick hug both of them said good bye as the man turned the corner and Tia continued forward towards the end of the corridor. She was surprised to see she was the only one waiting besides the elevators. This is strange, Tia thought to herself, since there was always at least four people standing in this area and waiting. The lawyer just shrugged the thought off as she pressed the button and waited for the lift to come. Another unusual occurrence was when the moving box arrived quicker than the woman could ever imagine and the fact that it was empty almost sent her falling on the floor in shock. Quickly she stepped into the lift and pressed the seventh floor button. Apart from being dreadfully spaceful, Tia felt fine until the elevator came to a complete jolt. Just grabbing on to the side poles in time stopped her from collapsing to the floor. Brilliant! She inwardly moaned as the ex-football player began pressing the emergency button. I should have known it had been too good to be true, she sighed, picking up the phone they had in the lifts to phone for someone. However, as soon as it was placed by her ear, a loud cracking noise screamed into her ears and she instantly slapped the object back on to the receiver. Well, that's just great, Tia thought to herself as she rummaged through her pocket and picked up her mobile phone but saw it had no signal. Folding her arms she sat down against the ground and made herself comfortable. Sooner or later someone would recognise that the elevator wasn't working; at least she hoped so. Just as she was thinking her day couldn't get any worse the sound of sparks above her head caught her attention. What? She thought startled, jumping to her feet and braced herself for whoever was about to jump in. This has got to be some kind of joke! She wanted to laugh as she picked up her suitcase and lunged it over her shoulder; it wasn't actually a weapon but it was the only thing she had plus it was heavy. The first person jumped in and stood to face her.

"Hey Tia, long time no…" The man never got to finish his friendly greeting as he quickly had to duck out the way of a flying suitcase. It had just whizzed over the top of his head when he stood back up and grabbed her arm. "Now Tia is that how to treat an old friend." The intruder spoke, pulling back the hold of his jacket to reveal his face. At the site Tia dropped her brief case.

"Artie!" She called out in joy as she literally jumped onto him and hugged him tightly as they spun around in the tiny space.

"What are you to five? Cut it out already!" Another voice shouted at them and both of them looked up to see Corso had entered the room. Instantly, the lawyer jumped off the outlaw and stood to attention like in the army.

"What are you two doing here?" She demanded to know, though if she wasn't so shocked she would have guessed it had something to do with Sonny and the trouble he was in.

"Tia, we've come to ask for your help." Corso asked and with a deep sigh Tia was not going to like explaining this.

Later on, Tia was still suffering from the headache that came from the discussion she had with the pirates when they kept her trapped in the elevator. Why couldn't they just break into my office? She moaned inwardly to herself. As she made her way from the piles of paperwork to the lobby of her office. It had not been a happy experience explaining she was the lead prosecutor of their leader's case and it took her forever to explain to them how she would use everything in her power to help him and that if they could get him to contact her. Not to mention the four hours of paper work had gotten to her. But she had to put that all behind her when she saw the love of her life entre the building.

"Mummy!" Her three year old cried out in joy when he saw his mother and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him towards her. Bending down she held her arms out as he threw himself at her as he brought him into a huge hug.

"How's my baby boy been?" She asked the day care worker who was walking up behind him.

"His usual self, he spent a lot of time trying to make a picture for you." She said and at the mention of that last part, Connor pushed a piece of paper into her face. From what she could make out, it looked like a rough version of their house and she was guessing the two stick figures were herself and him.

"Oh baby it's so beautiful." She smiled as she kissed him on the cheek. It felt so good to be going home as she said could bye to the care worker and carried her mischievous three year old to the car. Is it really that late? She thought as she stepped out of the warm building to the dark night. The court case must have taken longer than she expected or it had been with meeting the pirates. Sighing to herself she readjusted her son who hung from her hip and made her way through the shadows. There were hardly any cars left and hers happened to be near the end of the whole compound. Well at least I'm getting so exercise, she tried to tell herself as she picked up her space. The small child didn't seem to mind what was going on since her was playing some imaginary game with his toys. Finally, she made it to the safety of her car and after a while fumbling through her bag managed to open the door and secure her son into his push up seat before she made her way to the driver. All of a sudden, someone grabbed her by the shoulder. Out of instinct, Tia grabbed the arm and twisted it before she flung the person over her hip. She was about to begin an interrogation on the subject when she finally noticed who he was.

"Sonny!" She couldn't help but cry out when she recognised him. He sent a painful looking smile at her. It took her a few moments that she still had his arm twisted in a painful position. "Oh sorry." She muttered quickly and helped him to his feet where she got a better look at him in the light. The man had dramatically changed since the last time she had seen him. He had lost a lot of weight so his face looked all sullen, the lines I the corner of his lines had deepen and his face was all burned with fever.

"Hello Tia, Corso was kind enough to pass on the message." He grinned at her but it looked like it took a lot of effort to do so.

"Sonny! You have a fever, when's the last time you slept or ate." She fussed over him like a mother. It was an instinct she had picked up after giving birth nearly four years ago. The lawyer felt his forehead to check his temperature and instantly snatch her hand back; he was boiling hot. Before the old man could argue, Tia stopped him. "Get in the car Sonny, you can stay at my place, we'll talk when you've felt better." She ordered the pirate. It looked like he was about to object but Tia made her 'don't mess with me' face that she used on her son and pointed towards the back seat. For a moment, suspicion crossed the old man's face but Ta didn't care about the old man's pirate habits. She made another movement with her finger and ordered him to the car. Slowly he made his way to the door while she made her way to the driver's seat.

"Mummy, who's he?" Connor demanded when she got in. She looked at him to see he had undone his seatbelt, so he could turn around and get a proper look at the man. When she turned around to see Sonny, she saw that he had a very surprised look on his face; obviously he had not been expecting to come face to face with a three year old. Tia couldn't help but giggle at his expression. The man was a pirate; he should be used to surprise.

"Connor, this is Sonny, Sonny this is my son Connor." She introduce before she wrestled the boy back into his seat, so she could start the engine.


	3. Little Evidence

The whole journey home was silent with tension, even with Connor begging to put the radio on, to Tia it seemed that silence had fallen on the car. Every now and again she would look in her review mirror to see her old friend staring out the window lost in his own mind. But it was like he had a sixth sense or something because every time she looked at him, he would turn his attention away from whatever he was doing and looked at her. Finally they arrived at her town house and before she had parked the car her son was nearly halfway through the door. Before she could get her hands on him he had jumped out and was running towards the front door.

"Connor!" She snapped angrily at him and stopped the car not caring if it was parked probably. Jumping out of her car she leapt out her seat and ran to him, forgetting all about the man who sat in the back of her car. "Connor Lucas de Medici! How dare you scare me half to death? You know very well you should wait for me to park the car." She told him off and he just told there with his head bowed look with a mixture of stubbornness and sadness. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself before unlocking the door and let her lad stomp into the house. She turned to see that Sonny had gotten out of the car and had stayed a small distance away while had been telling off her child. She just shrugged at him before she entered the house.

"You have a lovely house." Sonny comment politely as he followed her in. She smiled, as she placed her coat on the hanger.

"Thanks, I used to think it was the perfect house, until Connor learned to play hiding seek." Tia joked as she led him to the living room. Connor was already in there with the same look on his face and was scribbling madly at his little play table. Taking Sonny by the arm she forced him to lay down on the coach.

"Honestly Tia I am not a child." Sonny suddenly spoke out, since he was getting fed up being treated like one.

"Sonny, until you're temperature goes down I shall do whatever I want." Tia snapped back at him which sent the pirate quiet.

"Mummy bosses everyone around." Connor muttered under his breath but it was still loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Mummy's will always be in charge until you're eighteen." Tia told her son firmly. He just gave her an annoyed glare before settling back to his picture. With a deep sigh, Tia tip toed her way behind him and slipped in next to him. Looking over his shoulder she saw he was drawing a picture of his favourite hero; Robin Hood. "Hey if you promise not to jump out of moving cars anymore I'll make your favourite dinner tonight… deal." She asked. For a moment he stopped what he was doing and seemed to be thinking deeply to himself.

"Pinky swear!" He questioned, holding out his tiniest finger. With a small laugh, she gripped her little finger around his and shook on it. The deal was made and the three year old was back to his normal self.

"Sonny if their anything you would like?" Tia asked the man who sat watching her politely but he just shook his head.

"No I fine with whatever you're having." He smiled back but Tia was quite shaken to see it was a very weak attempt.

"You rest Sonny, I'll just get you an ice pack to help keep your temperature down." She informed before whizzing of to the kitchen. After a quick search through the fridge she quickly returned and gave it to him before disappearing into the kitchen again. It took her quite a while to gather all the ingredients together but she soon found herself rushing around the small area to check three things at once. She even swore at some point when she knocked over the frozen peas, only for Connor to shout in 'Mummy, that's a pound in the swear box!" But when it was all made, Tia couldn't help but feel a burst of pride in her chest. "Who wants Mums famous meaty baked pasta?" Tia sang through the door.

"I do! I do! I do!" Connor jumped up in joy as he ran to the dining table and scrambled up on to the chair. When she entered the room with the dishes in her hand she glad to see that her guest's swollen red cheeks had dulled down a bit. Placing the large dish in the centre she dished out the boys food before taking her own. The room was filled with silence. It was something that Tia should have been use to because when Connor was eating it was the only time he shut up. But eating her dinner in the same room as Sonny was a completely different atmosphere. Part of her was grateful when the phone started ringing but she made herself stay in her chair. "Aren't you going to get that mum?" The boy asked.

"No sweetie we're having dinner that would be rude." She answered actually the same time the phone stopped. However, after five seconds it soon began ringing. With sigh that was a mixture of both relief and irritation, she got up and went to go and see who it was. "Hello."

"Hey, hey, guess who?" The voice chanted happily from the other end of the screen and Tia smiled when she recognised the voice.

"Hey Tessa, what's up?" She smiled, forgetting the telling off she was going to give her. The woman that was staring at her was of Japanese origin with snowy white skin, slick black hair pushed back into a pony tail and piercing black eyes that any man would fall for.

"Just wanted to double remind you about the dress fitting tomorrow and shall keep nagging you about it until you remember." The woman sang down the end of the phone like an eight year old school girl, taunting her friend about a new toy.

"Does this mean you'll be phoning me up every hour like you did when Thran asked to marry you?" Tia questioned, only half joking. Tessa was a very enthusiastic woman who liked to have things her way but she was a good mother, an intelligent woman and one hell of a good laugh.

"Of course not babe unless I have to put my foot down again." The woman teased from the other end of the video screen but was soon distracted by the sound of two children running into the room and complaining about something. It sounded like a typical Opal and Kyle fight that the twins usually had before they went to bed. "Sorry Tia, duty calls, remembered dressing fitting tomorrow." She warned before waving off the screen. Tia could only laughed as she turned off the phone from her end and went to re-join her son and guest in the living room.

"Does this mean I have to look at stupid dresses tomorrow?" Connor asked, clearly hearing the conversation from the hall way.

"No honey you can stay with Uncle Thran and play with your friends." Tia answered as she ruffled the top of his head and sat down next to him again.

"Cool." He answered as he decided to focus his attention on finishing the last bits of his dinner. Tia could not help but smile at him.

"Connor! Come on; time to get out the bath." Tia ordered but the boy was too busy playing with his autobots to take in what she had said. "Connor!" She warned one last time and the firmness in her voice seemed to be able to catch his attention this time. Wrapping a towel around him, she carried him to his bedroom where she dressed him for bed and dried his hair. Both she could get her hands on him; he began to collect all his favourite toys in his room and tossed it on his bed, along with a book.

"Read me a story mummy." He pleaded, as he waved the heavy thing above his head. Supressing a smile she pushed the toys aside before placing herself down and pulling him on to her lap so he could get a good look at the pictures that were inside it. Of course he had picked Robin Hood; the boy was obsessed with the mythical man. She was a little scared how he wanted to be just like him as well but tried to remind herself he was only three and would grow out of it; she hoped. He made her read the whole book the whole book as well and when she had finally finished, he was nearly passed out on her lap from tiredness. Laughing lightly, she picked up and tucked him in.

"I love you little guy." She smiled as she picked up the Disney version of Robin Hood teddy and placed it beside him. His arm automatically wrapped itself around his most prized procession.

"I love you to mum." He yawned as he nuzzled his head into the fox and seemed to full asleep instantly. Placing a kiss on the top of his head and left the room, remembering to switch on the nightlight before she left the door open just a crack. She stood there for a few moments as she watched him sleep before leaving the area to check on the other child.

"I'm sorry it's not much but I'm afraid I haven't gotten around to finishing this room." Tia spoke as she stepped in the mists of the doorframe. Sonny looked up at her, only where a pair of baggy trousers and a t-shirt that she had been able to scramble together from when Thran had left stuff over but it looked quite small on him- it was either that or the lacy night dress that that Tessa had left over. However, the pirate seemed more then content in his surroundings.

"Trust me Tia, it's better than some of the places I've been staying out." He grinned at her. She was glad to see he was all right and walked over to him with a hot drink.

"Here, take this, it will help bring the temperature down." She ordered firmly as she pushed the cup of liquid into his hands. He looked at it suspiciously for a moment before taking the tiniest sip you could ever imagine and then played with it on his tongue. "I haven't poisoned it or anything, if I didn't I would be smarter." Tia teased and the man just gave her a hard stare back. Maybe she hit a nerve or maybe he miss understood what she had said. She said goodnight and left the room, getting herself changed for bed as she went along. She tried to get to sleep but it refused to come. After what seemed like ages of tossing and turning, Tia kicked the covers off and made her way down stairs. Flicking the light on in the kitchen she made herself a cup of tea before she went to go and fetch her laptop. She had just begun scanning her files trying to find something to bore her to sleep when a red light started flashing. Who's trying to call me the time of night? Tia thought as she accepted the call.

"Hey Tia, glad you're up." Thran smiled down the other end. She was quick to take in the dark circles under his eyes.

"Why aren't you in bed Thran?" Tia complained as she placed her warm drink to her lips and took a sip, partly teasing him and partly to stop her throat getting dry. It seemed to work since Thran face turned into a twisted expression of annoyance.

"Well, if you're going to be like that I won't give you the juicy bit of information I was able to dig up." Thran tormented her as revenge and Tia's interested were soon on boiling point.

"Tell me and I'll make a Godfather next time you're around." Tia smiled at him. If there was one thing in her life that she was able to use to make people whatever she wanted willing then it was defiantly her cooking. The ex-Snow Kids defender was no exception in this case and sent her a video that he wanted her to look at from the crime scene. It was a normal street but deserted excepted for the one man that was leaning against one of the walls. She couldn't get a look at his face since it was hiding in the shadows with dark glasses and a baseball cap pulled low. He was standing there for ages, ignoring men and women that walked passed until one lone woman walked by. Out of nowhere he grabbed her and pulled her into a nearby alley. Tia and to bite the inside of her cheek to make herself watch the scene, she caught her breath to see Sonny running back from the alley. "Well that looks bad." Tia couldn't help but mutter out.

"It does but look what happens when I put it through my filter." He said as he began using his computer system to perform some trick. The screen was filled with green numbers working against a black background until the video reappeared again. At first it seemed to be the same footage as before but then a figure with a dark cap pulled low over his face, later on Sonny came walking down the path when he suddenly stopped like he had heard something and went to investigate. That was when Sonny came running out.

"Where did you get this?" Tia asked when the video was gone and she was met with a grim expression on his face.

"The SPD files." He answered and Tia almost fell out of her seat.

"You mean they created a fake video." She asked and he nodded in return. "Did you find out who was running the investigation?" She asked and this seemed to place a nice grin on his face.

"Our good old friend detective Johnson." Of course, Tia thought, rolling her eyes. Why else would the camera footage be cut? The detective was probably being paid to frame Sonny.

"Did you get anything else?" She asked but her friend shook his head. "Okay, this will do for now, make sure the teams together tomorrow after fencing and keep digging" She ordered before signing off. Great! Tia thought as she took another sip of her drink to discover she had let it gone cold. At least they had evidence that Sonny was innocent but she would need a bit more if she was going to be definite; another lawyer could easily twist this into their favourite. She picked up the laptop and went to the room that secured her office. In an instant she had the blackboard up and began scribbling notes down on it and drawing plans. She also examined the footage again to add more information. This was going to be a long night.


	4. Fencing

When Tia finally opened her eyes, she looked at the clock to see it was seven o'clock. Why can't my body just function properly? Tia whined as she collapsed back against the chair. She thought she better hurry up and catch a quick shower before Connor woke up. Rapidly she placed the notes and the laptop in the lid of her desk and after typing in the code to lock the door ran upstairs to her room and entered her bathroom where in less than ten minutes she was showered, dressed and had started making pancakes. Sometimes she wandered how she was able to switch from kick ass lawyer to caring mother. Shaking the silly thoughts from her head she continued with her main job in the morning. The sudden creaks of the stairs catch her attention and she looked up to see a dazed Sonny searching his surroundings, as if he was trying to remember what place he had fallen into. Finally, his startled eyes fell upon her and they seemed to calm down a little.

"I made pancakes." Tia announced, trying to lift some of the tension that had fallen upon them for some reason but still he did not move. Just seconds later the heard the pitta patter of someone running down the stairs.

"Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes!" Connor sang loudly in joy as he raced into the kitchen and scrambled into the closets seat he could find. Tia laughed as she scooped the first batch onto his plate and proceeded with the next one. It seemed having a child on the scene helped to settle the mood as the pirate cautiously made his way to the chair next to the boy. The cook couldn't help but roll her eyes, he was a pirate; it was something she had to get used to. "More please?" Connor asked with his mouth full of food and held out his empty plate towards her.

"No but you can have some fruit if you like." She pointed towards the bowl in the middle of the table. Her son may have had a sweet tooth but she wasn't going to let that stop him from knowing he had to eat healthy stuff as well. A small hand dashed in towards the middle and tried to snatch one of apples that were leaning closets to him but his small arms couldn't completely reach. Quickly she turned around to place the pan on the side and began to reach out for the bowl when she noticed another hand reach in and gave the apple to him. "Connor what do you say?" Tia quickly threw out into the open when she noticed her son had already dipped into the fruit.

"Thank you." He beamed back at Sonny before continuing to eat. It was times like these she was glad Connor was around. There was just something about him that helped to calm people down. However, the small moment was interrupted when the doorbell went off and the pirate was on edge again. Tia headed towards the door and opened.

"Hey Auntie Tia!" Two children cried at once as they dashed past her and into the kitchen, sensing that their friend would be in there.

"Hello Thran how's you?" Tia greeted her poor friend and pulled the man inside. Her friend had done nothing to cover up his fencing suit and it looked quite embarrassing if you weren't actually in a training studio.

"I know what you're thinking but I was in a rush." Thran tried to defend himself but it didn't work since all she could do was laugh at him. All the defender could do was just take it since he had learned over the years that you never cross what women say or do; ever. It took the kids running back in the room to calm her down so she could focus on the bouncing balls of joy.

"Come on Connor let's get you…" She didn't even get to finish the sentence as the boy had already zoomed upstairs to his room. The two adults looked at each other, both shaking their heads as she went to follow the boy. By the time she had made it to his room, she found him in his trousers but seemed to have forgotten or not bothered with his jacket as he had already began using his pariser in his excises; for someone so young he was already prodigy. "Come here and let me put this on you." She ordered as she picked up the material he had just chucked on the floor. Sighing deeply, the boy placed his weapon down and allowed his mother to secure the top half of his practice uniform on. Just as she had finished the boy grabbed his sword again and ran down stairs. She laughed as she picked up his mask and quickly went to her room to pick up her sports bag and ran down the stairs to catch up with him. Before her foot stepped on the last step everyone was nearly halfway out the door. It seemed today everyone was excited to go. The twins disappeared with their father in their family car while Tia helped Connor into his seat. As she strapped himself in, she watched her son lean close to the window and wave madly out the window. Following his gaze she noticed that the old pirate was peeping out the curtains. Slowly he gave him one small wave and she smiled back. Pushing her peddles into a biting point she set her gear into overdrive and drove off.

Stepping out of the woman's locker room, Tia was now suited into her own fencing suit. In the main hall other club members stood around the area, catching up with friends or preforming some warm up exercises. Her eyes scanned the area until she saw her small group standing in the corner. As she made her way towards them, someone rudely bumped into her.

"Get out the way." The man grunted, though Tia was not surprised by this since the man's rudeness was legendary, that and his terrible flirting skills.

"Johnson, it's good that you're here." She smiled and at the sound of his name turned towards her.

"Ah Tia, if you've come for my files on the pirates case you will get them in due time, unless you're willing to use the sexy body of yours for an advantage." He grinned as his eyes greedily searched her body up and down. Good to see some things never change, she snorted and shock of his advantages with a whip of her hand. Detective Johnson was a man she butted heads with frequently. It was such a shame he was a bad cop with deep connections that made it impossible to get rid of him at this moment in time. He was a very good looking man, who stood a firm six feet two with large muscles, deep brown eyes and long dark hair that was swept to the side. If it wasn't for his crocked nose, his bad breathe and terrible personality then Tia might have accepted that time he offered to share a bed together; strange how the universe worked out.

"No need, Johnson, as usual I find your evidence tainted and have sent a report to suspend you from active duty and your case passed on to Detective Briar." Tia cut his layer of arrogance quickly with her tongue and could see his cheeks burn with such anger that it took all her might to stand her ground in fear that he would strike her. "I warn you not to make a scene in such a large crowd, Johnson." It was foolish but her eyes held his as she dared him to make a move, confident with her abilities if she needed them. Thankfully, the man seemed to take her word and with fumes screeching out of his ears turned his back to her and stormed away. Her inner child was sticking his tongue out of him but sadly could not show this in real life. Instead, she turned her attention back on her task before hand and turned into teacher mode as she settled into helping the children preform their excises correctly.

Match after match went on as people battled each other on the pile of mats placed along the floor. Tia tried to watch but her mind kept floating back to the case at hand. I already had one piece of evidence that was good enough to prove Sonny wasn't the only participant that could be involved in the rape but it still wasn't enough to clear him completely and she was sure that Technoid would make it more difficult to get him off the hook. Once she got Briar on the case she was sure more evidence would be coming in but it was going to take a lot of work to sort through what was fact and what was fiction, Thran had already cracked through the surface, they just needed to do the rest. The whole time she had been thinking through her thoughts, she had not been paying attention (apart from her sons match which had been amazing and she had been smiling proudly in front of all the other parents) that was why she did not hear her name being called out until she felt her son poking her in the arm.

"Mummy! It's your turn." Connor shouted angrily and prodded her one more time which finally caught her attention. Shaking her head, she blinked at the chubby face staring at her before turning her direction to the board. No way! Tia's eyes widen when her green orbs locked on the bright lights shining against the score board. There was no way this was an accident, the lawyer cursed as her eyes narrowed on the man that had just walked into the centre of the room. Johnson always had at least one dirty trick up his sleeve. Standing up I collected my equipment. "Kick his butt mum." Connor whispered his mother some encouragement and she smiled down at him and ruffled up his hair. Placing the burning frustration to the side, she made her way up onto the stage and faced the monster.

The referee stood between them and descripted the rules to them but most of her attention was focused on giving him the most evil look she could conjure. A skill she was proud to show off when interrogating suspects. Getting into position, Tia raised her sword in front of her face as she prepared for the fight. As soon as the referee announced the beginning of the match and detective Johnson leapt at her, aiming for her stomach. Tia was able to block the attack by using her pariser to sweep it to the side. The first rule she had taught her son when she began teaching him was to never rush his opponent; the detective had broken the first rule. The man came at her with all the power in his weight. As soon as Tia released this she knew she could win. The man was using up all his energy in the first round and Tia had always been light on her toes, not to mention had an high amount of stamina from playing football. Jumping around, she tried to stay as far away from him as possible, until she found him in the perfect spot. Got ya! Tia smiled in victory as he launched for her. Quickly, she performed a quartata, putting her into a perfect position to dodge him and attack.

"Point Tia." The referee called out loudly and a triumphant smile spread across Ta's face. When will Johnson learn that he'll never win against me, Tia smiled as she witness the man storm off the stadium.

After the club had finished, Thran got an emergency call from his wife about sorting out the flower arrangements for their wedding. The ex-defender apologised and said he would meet her at the office later. Tia offered to take the twins with her, so it was less stressful for him; that and it gave him enough time to get home and change first. Besides, she loved taking the children with her on car journeys, it was funny to hear all the crazy songs they learnt from school and it allowed the lawyer to let go and just be silly.

"John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, His name is my name, too. Whenever we go out, the people always shout, "There goes John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt!" a na na na na na na…" All of them sang at the top of their lungs. It was the only time that Tia could unleash her childish behavior (well get away with it anyway) but soon the fun had to stop when she pulled the car in one of the parking in lots.

"Come on kids." Tia sang happily, as everyone jumped out of the car. Quickly, she dropped the children off at the day care center before heading to the board room.

"What do we have guys?" The lawyer asked as she settled herself into one of the chairs that circled the large table was only a few people. This was he team. Detective Mark Briar, her footman who helped put the pieces of the puzzle together, Doctor Shelly Bing her forensic anthropologist (not to mention Tessa's sister) Michael Goods the forensic artist, Doctor Eric Thymes entomologists and finally Colin Adams the psychologists. These people had dedicated their lives to kicking bad guy ass for the rest of their lives; plus, meeting every Wednesday evening to play pool against one another and drink a couple of beers. Though the usual looks of happy faces were all sad (apart from Briar who always had a sour expression unless he had a pint of beer in his hands or a well know villain was sent to jail) they passed a file around to her and she quickly flipped through. "There's only one sheet in it!" Tia questioned with a confused expression on her face as she looked at everyone.

"That's because that was the only thing in the file." Detective Briar answered and for the first time she actually looked at the sheet of paper. It's barely half a page long. Oh Johnson! I'm going to kill you the next time I see you. She cursed.

"So we have nothing?" She asked in disbelief.

"Hey! I was still able to get the file for you!" Thran pointed out, also announcing his presence as he took the seat next to him.

"Plus, even though we weren't able to get the females name we got a pretty good description from a few of the nurses that helped her, I've got it drawn up and it's running through the system right now." Michael informed her as he passed her a sheet of paper with one of his creations on it. Pretty girl, Tia mused as she admired the shadows of the high cheek bones, the long waves of blonde hair and full lips. "I only draw her face because the nurses claimed she had a lot of bruises around her stomach and neck." The artist was sad to inform her and the lawyer could not help butt wince at the image that was now floating around in her head.

"Okay let's start building a profile." She announced and the whole team got to work.

It was late when Tia stepped out of her office building and carried her sleeping son towards the car. The team had not come up with much but they were able to get their hands on the medical report of the unknown victim and were able to add some stuff to the profile. Securing her son to his driver's seat, she gently closed the door shut and made her way to the driver's seat. Though she felt someone's hand on her shoulder and instinctively grabbed it and flipped it over her shoulder. It wasn't until her eyes caught hold of the bright red hair and green orbs did she realised what she had done. "D'jok!"


	5. An Old Team Mate

D'jok Grayson, the universes most famous bachelor, millionaire star football player for the Snow Kids and now the man she had just slammed hard into the ground of the parking lot had suddenly popped back into her life. Whoops! Tia thought as she continued to stare at her old team mate who was still lying on the ground with a dazed expression on his face. Did father and son usually sneak up behind people like this? Tia wondered to herself as she helped her old friend to his feet. Unlike the indicant with the pirate leader, it was still daylight and there was still a crowd of people walking around the car parks on their way home from the office. I've got to work on my reflex skills, she thought to herself.

"It's good to see you to Tia." The man smiled sarcastically at his old team mate. Tia could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment but could not help but smile herself.

"I'm so sorry D'jok but you scared the living hell out of me… what are you doing here anyway?" The questioned was out of her mouth before she could stop it. It sounded so rude but she had not seen her team mate for over six years and apart from the clip in the newspaper every once and a while she knew nothing about him or his latest activities. The only person she really saw from her old days was Thran and sometimes Yuki and Micro-Ice when he threw a family party but apart from that she tried to stay clear of people from her past.

"I got a call from Corso saying my dad was in big trouble and that you were helping him out, I want to find out what's going on." He said but there was something hidden in his voice that sounded like he was desperate. Her heart went out for him, knowing that having your father as leader of the pirates was always leaving a feeling of dread on your chest but getting a call from your dad's best friend and telling you must be bad. Especially with the cup season just around the corner. D'jok must have believed his father was in trouble if he was willing to face the wrath of his team mates but there was more to life then football.

"Get in the car; we'll talk at my place where it's safe." Tia ordered and left it with no debate as she proceeded to the driver's side of the car. D'jok was quick to follow and made his way to the front passage seat. "Sorry front seats already been taking!" She called over to him as she sat down. As she got in the driver's seat she could see the striker bending down to see through the window. Green orbs almost popped out from his skull when he saw Connor. There was no disputing whose child he was, both mother and son had the same bone structure around the face, white blonde hair and when his eyes were opening had the same grass coloured iris. The disbelief in her old team mates face quickly disappeared as soon as it had come. As she heard him get into the back seat she prayed that the old pirate was still hanging around her house. It looked like D'jok could use some happy news and maybe seeing his father's face was what he needed.

Pulling up in front of her house, she placed the car into the drive and unhooked her son from his seat, as D'jok got out of the backseat. By the look she could see on his face it looked like he was a little shocked, he was admiring the street view of terrace houses in the neighbour and wondering this was the last place his father would go into hiding. Walking up the stairs, Tia opened the door and left it open so D'jok could still get inside. Please, still be here! Tia hoped as she quickly looked around the empty rooms before running up stairs and taking off her son's shoes, socks and put on his dinosaur pyjama's before tucking him into bed. Having a quick look around the room, the lawyer found the place completely deserted. Running back down the stairs she saw her old team mate standing in the hallway.

"Sorry D'jok! I brought Sonny here to help him get back on his feet but I can't find him." Tia apologised but her old friend who looked slightly disappointed for a few seconds before covering his expression behind a blank façade again.

"Or maybe you just weren't looking in the right place." Sonny's voice echoed from the shadows making both of the adults jump from where they stood. Tia didn't even know where he was until she felt a slight tap on her shoulder. By now she should of know better than to let her defensive instincts take over but she couldn't help herself as she grabbed the arm and bent it at an odd angle. "Ow!" The pirate cried out and at that Tia let it go.

"Whoops." She shrugged and tried to give an innocent smile.

"I suppose that's my fault I should learn by now not to sneak up behind you." The pirate answered with a small smirk on his face. Most men learn it after the first time; Tia thought to herself and couldn't help but smile back at the old man.

"I see you learned the hard way as well." D'jok added sarcastically and they both looked at him. Hearing his son's voice and seeing his presence, Tia could feel every muscle in the bodies relax and he moved forward to the man, both of them embracing each other. Watching the small reuniting between the two men, Tia face turned into a warm smile and secretly gave herself a warm pat on the back for a job well done. Though she was quick to hide whatever she was thinking when the two men stepped apart. "Now can someone please explain to me what's going on?" The red head asked and both Sonny and Tia looked at each other with worried expressions on their faces.

"Both of you better sit down." Tia explained as she directed the man into the living room. Opening a small cabinet she brought out three beer bottles and passed them to the two men. "You're going to need these; I've got a lot of stuff to tell you."

Three beers later, Tia finished explaining the whole situation to them. Despite the one being accused of the crime, Sonny was calm as anything. While D'jok on the other hand… well he looked like he was going too exploded, possibly because of the alcohol. Right now she wasn't sure who needed the most comforting.

"I swear if I ever get my hands on that detective I'll…" D'jok spoke loudly but was quickly cut off.

"I would like to remind you there is a three year old sleeping upstairs." Tia informed him and her old team mate was silent again. The whole room was silent and the lawyer took another sip of her beer. I am so glad I'm used to drinking large amounts of alcohol, she casually wondered to herself as her thoughts wander towards the tempting thought of my booze, hiding in the cabinet on the shelf. One bottle at a time Tia, the woman told herself as she still had some left in her glass. Then she remembered not to push herself too far as she had dress fitting to do tomorrow. A headache began forming in her head and she pinched the top of her nose to try and relieve the stress. She needed to get some rest.

Five more minutes, she thought to herself but did not find the energy to say it out loud. Instead she hoped they were psychic and would see that they would see she was tired but still the poking continued. Finally, she found the strength to open her lids and stared at green eyes that were similar to hers. Sitting up she saw her son staring back at her with an innocent look of curiosity and wonder on his face.

"Mummy, why is D'jok sitting downstairs in the kitchen?" Connor asked and for a few moments, Tia could only stare at him wondering what he was talking about. Slowly, the past few days came flooding back to her and she remembered, now knowing what her son was talking about. She smiled at her boy and got out of bed, slipping on one of her dressing gowns as she allowed her son to guide her down stairs. As she entered two heads shoot up and looked at her, greeting her with warm smiles.

"Morning everyone." Tia sang happily as she picked Connor up and placed him in his chair which happened to be right next to D'jok. The lawyer could see the adoration shining in the green orbs of her child's eyes. To him, D'jok was one of his biggest heroes. Like his mother the boy had developed a love for football and never missed a football match that involved the Snow Kids playing in it. Half way through pouring herself some cereal, the phone rang and Tia went to go and pick it up. When she answered she saw Tess on the other side of the phone. After greeting and talking a bit about family life, her friend got down to business.

"I'm just here to remind you that we have a dress fitting tomorrow." She smiled and Tia couldn't stop the low groan coming from her mouth. Many things had changed about Tia but one thing that would never change was her ability to hate dress fittings. But since she was in the role of best friend, it was her job to go and check it out and help her friend tell her how amazing she looked in her wedding dress. After that they said goodbye, Tia made her back to the kitchen only to discover some of the group had disappeared.

"Where did D'jok and Connor go?" Tia asked the pirate, who had his head deep into one of the morning newspapers the paper boy must have dropped off this morning.

"D'jok offered to show Connor some football skills in the garden." Sonny informed her with his head still hidden by the newspaper. Following what he said, she looked out the window that opened up to the back garden to see her old friend with a normal sized football and her son with a tiny one because he was so small he wasn't able to use an average size one to perform keep ups. The Snows Kids striker was holding on to her son's foot and pointing to the places where he needed to focus the ball on to. After giving her child a few demonstrations with his own ball and foot he encouraged Connor to have a try. A proud beamed on her face when she watched a three year old preform sixteen kick ups in a role without dropping the ball, even D'jok just seemed a little impress. Finally looking away, she noticed that the pirate was still engrossed with whatever he was reading. Making my way over to him, I snuck up behind him to see what he was reading. My eyebrows nearly disappeared into my hair line. "I've only just been accused and already the world seems to be against me." He moaned and tossed the paper to the side. On the front was detective Johnson, holding his hands up in front of his face. Somehow the papers had found out that the detective had been suspended from the case against Sonny Blackbones.

"Sonny, I and Thran were able to find out what he was up to and are righting all his wrongs, we've already got a tape to prove someone else was there. I swear I will do whatever I can to prove you innocent." Tia promised and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder to know she was there. In response she placed his rough hands on her. The back door and Connor came bouncing in with D'jok following close behind.

"Mummy! Mummy come and see how many keep ups I can do!" Connor cheered excitedly and grabbing his mums hand dragged her outside since there was a strict no football rule inside the house. Sitting herself down on the stairs of the garden, she watched as her child prepared himself before showing off. He managed to be able to get up to twenty five until the ball bounced of the toe end of his trainers and went flying off towards the window. Thankfully, D'jok had been watching from inside the door frame and had been able to reach out and grab the ball before it could smash through the window.

"That was a close one." D'jok grinned, while Tia swept up her son into a hug and gave him and very proud hug.


	6. Fittings

When Connor had his mind set on something then it stuck to that thought like a hungry wolf determined to get his prey. Something many people said that she had passed on to him; oh, how she wished she hadn't. As soon as she had mention to the two men that she was off for a dress fitting for Thran and Tess's wedding, her son was off like a rocket. Realising what she had done, Tia swore so loudly that the neighbours next door heard her. To everyone that knew the young woman then it was very rare for her to raise her voice let alone swear. So you can only imagine the look on the star striker and leader of the pirates face when she spoke one of the most forbidden worlds in existence. It was also what led her to be lying flat on her stomach next to the tiniest cupboard you can imagine that only a small dog or a small child would be able to fit into.

"Connor if you come with me to the fitting then we can go to the park afterwards." Tia tried to plead with the boy but as usual her son remained defiant.

"I'll be dead before that happens." The three year old shouted back at her. In frustration, the lawyer bashed her head against the floor, muttering curses into the wooden surface. Tia wasn't sure why the closet had been put their in the first place and hadn't even realised it existed at first until one day she was playing hide and seek with her child and after almost having a panic attack when she thought she lost him, he came crawling out of the door asking her if dinner was ready yet. It was at these times that she forgot that her son had superhuman hearing and had experience enough of his mother's bad tempers to know when she said something naughty. "That's twenty one pounds in the swear box!" He called out and in response Tia bashed her head against the wood again. Through all her anger, she could not help but smile at her son. Somehow he always made something good and funny. The sound of the floor creaking made her notice that someone was walking in her direction.

"He's thinks I find dress fitting fun." She mumbled, looking up to see a cheeky grin looking at me. D'jok laughed before deciding to join his old team mate on the floor.

"I expected many things when I came to see you Tia but… being a mummy was the last thing I expected. Have you been playing around Tia?" He mentioned and silence fell between them. Tia was used to the statement coming from others, but they were mostly arranged into meaner phrases, cursing her boy for being a bastard or herself as a slut. As always she had ignored them but they still hurt. But the way D'jok said it made it feel like it was just more then playful teasing and for some strange reason it really got to her.

"Well things change." The woman muttered before jumping to her feet and ran upstairs so she could get ready.

"Tia!" She heard D'jok called up the stairs but it was soon cut off when she closed her bedroom door behind her. Tia knew she was being stupid; her team mate wasn't being mean or anything. In all fairness the red head wasn't the mean type, big headed sometimes yes and short tempered but he would never go out of his way to scare someone. Yet the scares of her past had somehow managed to rip open and bleed again. Forcing the tears that were threatening to escape, she got herself washed and dressed for the day. Throwing on a pair of jeans and t-shirt, Tia bounced her way back downstairs and went back to the cupboard door to try and allure her son out. But before she had a chance to begin the use of her bargaining skills, she heard singing. Following the noise, she was led back to the living room where she saw Connor and D'jok sitting in the centre of the rug, performing a clapping song. But since the football striker was not use to this sort of game he kept messing it up. It didn't matter though, the red head seemed determined to get through one rhyme and Connor seemed to think all the mistakes he made were rather funny. For a spilt second, D'jok looked up and their eyes met. Her heart stopped as long as they made eye contact before she physically had to put a lot of energy into ripping it apart.

"Mummy! D'jok says that he'll look after me so I don't have to go dress shopping!" Connor beamed happily and the red head just shrugged like it was nothing. Tia was honestly a little taken back by the request.

"Are you sure? I would hate – "

"It's okay Tia I spend a lot of time with kids anyway, it's no big deal." Her old team mate answered with an easy casualness that made the mother feel a little more reassured about his ability to look after her child. To be fair, there were no strong arguments to not allow him to stay with the footballer, not to mention she was already running a bit behind schedule. Nevertheless, her motherly instincts still made her feel uneasy about this arrangement. Still, she trusted D'jok and decided he was better than a lot of people. In the end she sighed in defeat.

"Okay, I'll only be gone for an hour or so, behave Connor and make sure he doesn't eat anything sugary before lunch. Emergency contacts are on the fridge." With the stranded warnings given, Tia made her way out the door and was about half way down the stairs when she heard his voice again.

"Tia wait a second!" The red head called out behind her, spinning around on the spot, she watched him meet her on the same step. "I got the feeling I upset you earlier and I just want you to know I…" He didn't get to finish as Tia raised her hand and shook her head slightly.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have treated you like that, just a lot of bad memories resurfaced at the same time but that was not right to take it up on you." She smiled sweetly at him before running down the stairs to her car. "I'll see you later." She waved and strapping herself into her car, drove away, only checking her mirror once to see if he had gone back inside the house.

The main colours for the wedding were red and blue. Red because it was Tessa's favourite colour and blue for Thran's favourite and since they couldn't decide on which colour they decided to have both. This ended up in weird arrangements and decorations made up for the wedding which would usually seem odd but under Tessa's direction somehow seemed to work. For example, the flower decorations consisted of matching bluebells and red roses; the cutlery was mostly white apart from the red and blue rims around the edges with red or blue napkins to match and for the outfits, ruby silk for the dresses and sapphire material for the suits. Since Tia was playing best woman for the ceremony, she decided to use this as an excuse to not wear a dress and in the end was able to convince her best friend to have a suit styled for her instead. Looking at herself in the fall length mirror, she admired how the suit fitted her body perfectly, giving her a nice figure and the dark colours really help to show off her flawless snowy skin. Tessa had chosen a dark grey shirt with silver buttons, matching dark blue blazer with trousers and silver high heels. Oh yes, she defiantly felt much more comfy and sexier in this suit then wearing one of those…

"Wow Tia you look great!" Shelly smiled, walking into the room. Speaking of the unspeakable red dresses, her colleague and friend was pulling it off without a hint of embarrassment or any signs of acting uncomfortable. The outfit was long but had a knee length slit on the right side to show off a bit of leg, it didn't have any strap and had a small sequin display around the top half. There was one thing you could say about the Bing sisters and that was they could pull off wearing any type of clothing. The only other woman who would be wearing that dress was her friend Yuki, who sadly couldn't make it today with the Snow Kids training extra hard to win the galactic football cup again, since they had lost their chance winning the last cup for the fourth time to the Lightning's and for some reason the cup date had to be change making the program run two years earlier than it should. They would have to wait for themselves to arrive on Akillian before they could try out the dress.

"Thanks Shell, you look amazing yourself." Tia smiled back as the woman exchanged some cheesy poses together in the mirror before laughing their heads off.

"Oh you have to come and see Amy in her dress, she's so cute." The maid of honour clapped excitedly before pulling Tia out of the room. Leading her into the main waiting room, the lawyer saw her best friends three year old playing with her dress in the mirror. She had a lighter red dress then the other woman with a white ribbon around the middle and white little shoes to match; Amy looked like a little angel. Noticing her two godmothers in the mirror, she bounced over to them and started performing little circles and curtsies to show off in.

"Okay guys what do you think?" Tessa asked, stepping out of her own dressing room to reveal her own wedding gown. They already knew it was going to be mostly red because Tess had found the idea of wearing white ridiculous and such a boring colour. It was strapless with diamonds and pearls around the bodice with embroidery of silver roses down the side with a red ruffle held up to show off a white silk also stitched with the same patterns. She looked absolutely stunning. Now Tia had a feeling that even Thran's tux would somehow be fitting in with the colour scheme.

"You look amazing!" Shelly cried out excitedly and pulled her little sister into a hug but was careful not to mess up the dress. Amy seemed to be taken back but her mother's beauty and seemed a little eerie. Finally her mum looked at her and Tessa's face filled with joy.

"Baby you look so beautiful!" Her friend went all teary but held it back so she wouldn't ruin her makeup, pulling her own little girl into a hug. Tia didn't mind that she couldn't have moments like this with her son, she was sure she was patient enough to wait for grandchildren. After an emotional hug, Tessa seemed to suddenly remember that she had forgotten to tell her friend something important. "I've just remember, we got all the invitations from your old team mates so everyone will be at the wedding."

Arriving home, Tia was careful to carry her outfit through the house without damaging it in anyway. She had nearly gotten her head ripped off from the bride to be when she nearly got it splattered by water but she couldn't help it. Even though she had supported Thran's idea to invite all the old Snow Kid's to the ceremony she had been completely uncomfortable with it. It meant meeting a certain someone for the first time in six years and they had not parted on good terms. The first thing to know the house was still in order was the sound of group laughter echoing through the house.

"Hello!" Tia called out, placing the outfit on a hook but her voice failed to break through the event was happening somewhere in the back of the house. Popping her head in the living room, she was surprised to see not just D'jok but Sonny sitting in the circle with her son, playing with his auto-bot action figures. It took all the effort in the world not to laugh her head off at how much fun two grown man were having playing with dolls. Since they had their backs to her, they had not notice her return, it was Connor who noticed.

"Mummy!" Connor cried out, jumping to his feet and ran over to his mum. The two men froze where they sat, realising they had been caught out. Scoping him up into her arms, Tia kissed the top of his forehead before looking at the two men who had abandon the toys and tried to look like nothing had happen.

"So? Did you beat Megatron?" She questioned, tossing her bag to the side, so she could get a better hand on her son. He was wiggling around a lot as his head was still in the game and was moving his toy Optimus Prima around like he was flying or something and every now and then moved his arm and made shooting noises with his mouth.

"We kicked his butt mum but he got away again!" He answered and folded his arms as if he was a little mad at himself which was kind of funny because it wasn't real.

"You guys let Megatron get away!" Tia pretended to act shock sending both father and son a wicked look that made them squirm on the spot. It felt good to have this kind of power; she was going to use it as blackmail for the rest of their lives.

"Don't worry mum we'll get them next time!" He cheered with a fist pump in the air. Again Tia giggled and finally put the three year old down, dashing off with his toy, shouting something that sounded like he was going to find the enemy or something. Nothing was said between the three adults and the room was completely silent until Tia's phone went off. Looking at her wrist she saw it was Briar and he never called her unless it was work related or he wanted to ask if he wanted a drink and if he was phoning around this time it must be about work. Excusing herself, she moved into the hallway and took the call.

"What have you got for me Briar?" Tia asked, listening intently to what the man was saying, the picture had come up positive in the police database; they now had a name for the victim and a address.


	7. Eyes

Looking at the address, Tia doubled check she was out the right apartment before knocking on the door. As she waited she took another look around her. The apartment existed in the lower levels of Genesis, where the working class people lived. The whole place was shabby and not well kept. Down one side of the hall a woman sat outside her apartment, looking into space, her expression blank; clearly a drug addict. Somewhere on the other side of the hall two people were really going at it, these walls needed thicker walls. After waiting a while she knocked again but still no one answered. Third times the charm, Tia thought to herself and bang on the door again. It worked. The door was pretty much ripped off its hinges when a small woman with an uneven haircut, skinny legs and a small night dress hanging off her fatigue figure. She would of looked better if she didn't have so many bruises and cuts all over her body from the attack. Tia had seen this woman twice before, in the video and in the sketch Michael had drawn up. Though for someone who looked so vulnerable had one hell of a sharp tongue.

"What do you want?" She demanded, taking a puff from her cigarette and blowing it straight into the lawyers face. Choking a little on the grey smoke, Tia waved the smoke away, so she could see the woman clearly and the bump that visibly showed from her stomach. The lawyer tried not to show she was disgusted by the subject. Instead, she reminded herself that this woman and her unborn child needed her help.

"Miss Beckett, I'm here about your visit to the hospital on…" She stopped when she read the other woman's body posture and stuck her foot in-between the door. Thankfully, she was not an amateur at this and had come wearing proper army combat boots. They were so thick and layered that a hammer falling full speed from the top of the tallest building could not damage her foot in any way. "Miss Beckett…"

"Look lady, I don't know who you are but I ain't interested, I just want to forget!" She pretty much spat in her face and shoved the lawyer away, dislodging her foot from the door and slamming the door in her face. Rolling her eyes, Tia pulled out one of her business cards and wrote on the top '_If you ever need help, call me' _before slotting it through the mail post. She stood there for a moment hoping the door would open back up but it never happened. In the end she had no choice but to return home.

When she got home, the house was completely silent. For the first part of the morning she had been at work and evening she had gone to see Mary Becket. She really hoped the woman got back to her. Quickly she checked her messages, one was from her boss asking her to report to her about the meeting with Miss Becket and need to know if they could go ahead with the case. The second was a message from Thran talking about wedding arrangements and then Connor in the back ground talking about how amazing the movie Uncle Thran had taken himself and the twins too. After that was the electronic voice which she hang up on right away because the voice just annoyed me. It was times like these that she felt really miserable. Some parents felt glad to have their kids gone for the night but Tia hated it. She loved hanging out with her son; he was like her best friend in a weird creepy way. Maybe it was because she just hated being lonely. When she grew up she had been alone and had hated it, she had no intention of going back to that stage. The creaking of the floorboards reminded her that she wasn't the only one in this house. She had thought that D'jok would have left to go back to his hotel but she found him popping his head out the kitchen to greet her home, with a bottle of beer in his hand.

"How many of those do I have left?" Tia inquired, pointing at the beer in his hand.

"There are four in the fridge." He shrugged taking a swing his bottle to his lip and took a sip. I might need to pop down to the basement and get some more later? Tia thought to herself and squeezed her way between the door frame and the striker into the kitchen. Opening her fridge, she looked over the continents of the beer she had. Not strong enough, the woman told herself and moved on to the locked cabinet above and took out a shoot glass and a bottle of vodka. Slumping into her seat, she poured a glass for herself and forced back down her throat. The stuffed burned her inside and almost made her gag but she needed to get herself pissed.

"Your dad's off the hook by the way." She informed D'jok before forcing back another drink before slamming it back on the table.

"You don't sound happy about it." The footballer spoke, taking the seat next to her. No I'm not! Tia thought to herself but not for the reasons he thought. Sometimes she really hated her job sometimes.

"The woman wouldn't come forward." Tia began, taking another shoot of vodka from the bottle before finally giving up. Not matter how much she wanted to get drunk, the stuff was just too disgusting. "No victim. No prosecution. No crime committed." Well there were the other woman but they couldn't actually help. What she had just quoted was the law and she couldn't change that. They could have all the evidence in the world but if the victim didn't want to press charges or any other victims were loose on the events then there was nothing they could do about it. That didn't mean there wasn't a villain out there somewhere roaming the streets; most of them would be out looking for their next prey to target. "She was five months pregnant when she was raped and I couldn't put the son of a bitch who did it behind bars." It was more of a statement of fact then anything to comment on.

They both sat there in silence, their drinks forgotten. Tia stared into the still liquid that still resided in her glass. Pushing the glass to the side she bowed her head on the table and rested it against the cold wooden surface. It helped to calm her but only a little. Easing her breathing, she looked back up and wiped the hair away from her face. The expression of sadness and frustration was gone and replaced with a tired expression.

"Where is your dad anyway?" Tia questioned, putting the vodka back into its cabinet.

"Out the back talking to Corso." He answered from where he sat. The lawyer decided that she would let D'jok tell his father the news, right now she just wanted her bed. He allowed her to go, sensing she need for a little peace and quiet. For a while, Tia couldn't help but fill guilty that the good news he was meant to be passed on was tainted a little by her rumbling. Never in her life had she ever talked about her work life in her private life like that. In fact she tried to keep the two things separate. In the end she put the whole word vomit thing down to tiredness and decided that a good night sleep would cure her.

The night of rest never came. She must have gotten about two hours sleep when her phone started going off. As soon as her body registered the sound she sat up like a lightning bolt. Feeling a quick few seconds of pain to her head from sitting up to fast. With one hand pinching the bridge of her nose to calm her headache, her other searched the side of her bed, quickly finding the communication device on the far side of her bed side table.

"Hello." She answered groggily. Any odd sound came from the end of the line, like a person having problems with their breathing, a problem that Tia felt she should have known about but couldn't put her finger on it. Whoever was calling her must have been using an old phone because there was no image of the person being shown on the phone. "Hello!" The lawyer called again but much louder.

"Please… please…help…me!" The words were barely recognisable but the person who spoke soundly oddly familiar. Nevertheless, recognisable or not they were enough for her to know this person was in serious danger.

"Who is this, what's your address so I can call the emergency services!" Tia asked, getting out of bed and reaching for the home phone to prepare the call.

"You… said… you… would-" The line went dead. Oh my God! Finally realising what must have been happening on the other side of the phone. Tia panicked as she began calling the emergency services, the number of the call was on her phone and if she sent it through to the services they would be able to track it down. That's when it finally hit her. She recognised the area code instantly and cursed herself for not listening more. The person had asked for her help. There was only one person in that area code that she knew had her number if she needed help. Mary Beckett had been on the other side of that phone. She was being strangled to death.

Six hours ago, Tia had been standing outside this apartment; now she was examining the chaos from within. The signs of a struggle were all around the place: furniture knocked over, objects smashed, blood all over the place. Miss Beckett's body had already been taken from the scene after Shelly had examined the body and took it to her lab to complete further tests. But there were two things that Tia didn't like about this case. One was that the victim's eyes had been cut out and secondly even though there was evidence of rape again, there was no sermon left behind just like the other times; which meant the bastard was smart enough to wear a condom. But even if there hadn't been sermon left behind, there was always another way DNA could have been left behind. Another thing that was pointed out that is the person was smart enough to wear a condom then this act wasn't about releasing sexual energies but power. Adding it to the profile it narrowed it down to a white human male in his late twenties or mid-forties. Not to mention he was strong, so he worked out, you could always tell because strong men tend to aggressively attack woman then weak men who took them out with a syringe. It didn't narrow it down much but it was a start. Right now her attention was more focused on the old looking phone on the floor. The speaker was laying on the floor near where the body had once been. Somehow the woman had got the fighting spirit to call for help when she was being murdered and Tia had failed to help her and her baby.

Since it was still early in the morning, Tia decided to wait until normal office hours to inform everyone else, Shelly was already working on the body and Briar was still trying to get witnesses to talk. Though she doubt they would get anything though. Rarely anyone who lived around those areas barely said anything. But if anyone would be able to get any information out of someone it was Briar. Tia sat in her office, going over the preliminary report that Shelly had just fax to her against the doctor's report. Both claimed that the whole body had been beaten so hard that some of the flesh had torn apart but the faces had been left completely untouched, both show signs of rape but no sermon was recovered and both showed signs of strangulation. The only difference this time was that Miss Beckett hadn't made it and had her eyes cut out. The only reason the woman must have survived the first time because Sonny had stumbled upon them. When she got the chance she would have to question the pirate about what he saw him. Really she should have talked to him earlier but never have the heart to tell him. At that moment someone knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Tia called out and D'jok came in surprisingly with two mugs.

"Thought you could use some this." He smiled and she beamed back because the smell of strong coffee filled her nostrils, giving her a new energy. Gratefully, she took it from him and he sat in the chair opposite her.

"I didn't wake you up did I?" She asked but her old friend shook his head.

"No I've was having problems sleeping." He answered, which worried Tia a little bit because he never had issues sleeping unless he had nightmares and they usually came true. Though she would never asked if he was okay since he would just deny it. If he wanted to talk he would tell her in his own time.

"I'm afraid the case is reopened." She informed the footballer body suddenly tensed and then slumped back in the chair. This meant bad news for his father.

"Did she change her mind?" D'jok questioned. How do I put his nicely? Tia wondered before finally remember that was a rookie thought to have, since there was no way to downplay explaining someone's death.

"She was murdered." Blunt and straight to the point, it was usually the best way to deal when talking with strangers. Family members on the other hand were a different problem. For some reason there was a look of guilt on his face. Maybe he had been thinking how the woman had caused problems for his dad and then realised the situation. "I'll need to talk to your dad, ask him what happened that night." Tia regrettably told him.

"You don't think he did it do you?" D'jok busted out in surprise. All she could do was shrug at this point, she would have to check Sonny's alibi later to confirm it. But overall… No, she didn't, the tape recording of the other man was enough to prove it but she hated to admit that Sonny did fit certain features of the profile. White human, male, mid-forties to early fifties, but even though he fit the culprit description perfectly but he didn't fit the crime. A crime of power was usually committed by someone who was intelligent and capable but was stuck in a dead end job or possible head a higher authority criticising him all the time even though they thought they probably didn't deserve it. Sonny Blackbones was the leader of the pirates; he didn't have to work for anyone and didn't have the usual pressure of a job.

"Did your dad mention anything eyes, women's eyes preferably?" Tia inquired which just resulted with the football player ending up with a 'what the hell are you talking about' face. "I need to know D'jok it's important." She tried to push him on.

"No and the only time he's ever mention a woman to me was mum and how much he loved her… that and he accidently said he thought she had nice legs once." The red headed finally informed her.

"Then he didn't do it." She shrugged and leaned back in her chair and looked over the preliminary medical report once again. It was known that people who had attractions to certain parts of the body talked about them a lot. Apparently Sonny was attracted to legs, which meant he would have been careful with them or would have done something that made them stand out. The report said the legs were beaten like the rest of the body. The attack had his focus on the eyes, not legs. Plus, there was no way D'jok could lie to her on a matter as serious as this. His ears always turned slightly red like the way a person's cheek would flush. His ears had stayed perfectly pale.

"What do eyes have to do with this?" D'jok questioned. Tia decided it was best not to tell him that information.


	8. You're Dead

Tia stayed up for the rest of the night. The footballer insisted that she went to bed but didn't stand much chance of winning since he was nearly asleep and she was used to doing all-nighters. She told herself that it was to try and figure out this case but really the phone call continued to haunt her thoughts. In the end, the exhaustion finally got to her and she fell asleep with her head laying on top of a eight hundred and seventy –five pound solid oak desk that Tessa had brought for her twenty fourth birthday; that woman would not be happy that she was drooling all over the surface. It was only someone shaking her shoulder and the smell of strong coffee that she finally woke up from her dream slumber. Her eyes stared straight into familiar hazel ones, which a few slight wrinkles.

"I thought you could use this." He smiled at her and handed her a mug of coffee; a similar action that his son had done last night… or was it this morning? Gratefully, the woman took the cup from his hands and took a sip. Suddenly, she felt her system burst with energy once again and she felt a whole lot better. "D'jok tells me I'm back as a wanted rapist again." The pirate added and once again her mood dwindled into despair.

"Only temporary, I've just about got enough evidence to throw you off the chopping block." She smiled confidently at him and it was the truth. The problem was she didn't know who long the temporary was going to be. Sonny's face was expressionless so she didn't know if her words had either comforted him, completely lost him or he didn't believe her all together. Thanks for the confidence boost! Tia thought secretly to herself but refused to say it out loud, this wasn't really a matter to be laughing over.

"D'jok said you kept asking if I had an obsession with eyes, I want to know why?" The pirate insisted. Her eyes widen in shock, she had not been expecting this. What was she going to tell him? Oh I just needed to eliminate the possibility that you could be a rapist that liked cutting out women's eyes! Maybe not that bluntly but she couldn't think of and easier way that didn't mean the same subtext. Still he had asked and it wasn't like she had much choice. She could try lying but she was terrible at it. Luckily fate decided to take it out of her hands and give her a different way of explaining it. Just as she was getting up the courage to tell him the phone in her office rang. Usually she would just ignore it but she saw it was Thran's number and he might have good news for her. Plus, she trusted her friend to keep the fact quiet that Sonny Blackbones was sitting beside her. But it didn't turn out as she had hope because when she answered, the screen showed Thran with a nervous and worried expression all over his face.

"What's wrong?" Tia asked, all the muscles were on high alert and the hairs on the back of her neck were on edge.

"Turn on the T.V, channel five." Thran advised and it only took a second for the lawyer to follow what he suggested. Nork appeared on the screen.

"_A body was discovered in the lower parts of Genesis last night; Assistant District Attorney Tia de Medic was the first on the scene last night after an informant told us she received a call for the victim asking for help. The victim was beaten, raped and the killer even cut her eyes out. A reliable source says Sonny Blackbones is the prime suspect…"_

Tia switched the television off, not wanting to hear any more of the sick words that came out of the man's mouth. At first she didn't dare say anything, feeling the rage creep through her body, it was so intense that she could feel her whole shake with rage.

"Thran! I want the bastard who leaked this information hunted down, I want them burnt alive, I want their fucking head on my desk by the time I get to the office, so start checking!" She shouted at her poor comrade before hanging up. When she let go she marched straight to her room to get change, not even noticing that the plastic had dented under her grip. Sonny and D'jok weren't sure what to be more scared about.

Upstairs, Tia was finally starting to calm down. The shower was helpful as the warm water patted against her skin, giving her tense muscles a slight massage. Finally she got dressed back into her work gear and then went to wake Connor up and help get him change. When she was down stairs again she found that the father and son had been joined by some of the other pirates. The gang looked up at her with friendly faces before returning to their group huddle. To Tia they looked strangely like a bunch of teenagers whispering secrets to each other in the school lunch rooms; but Tia knew that wasn't the case. Putting her son down in his chair, she began pulling pots and pans out of the cupboard.

"Anyone hungry?" She asked and before she had a chance to turn around she could hear them all scattering to the other seats. Secretly, she smiled to herself, they still remembered her cooking skills after all these years. She decided to stay easy today; taking eggs from the fridge and cracking them open in the frying pan, with bacon sizzling in the other. While that was happening she was cutting up tomatoes. It took forever to get all the meals done, she popped some toast in the toaster for herself and watched the man dig up the food and popped it into their mouth. They looked like wild animals that had been left to starve; even Connor who was three years old had better table matters. But then again, she remembered tasting the blue soup that the robot made, she could almost understand why they would nearly starve themselves. The toast popped back at up and spread butter on it, leaning against the sink; she began chewing every piece slowly as she thought.

She hated to admit it but this case confused her. Deep down she had a feeling that whoever was behind this was linked to Technoid in some way? Who else would have it out for Sonny Blackbones and try to frame him for something to disgusting? She didn't think it was Duke Maddox; she had a feeling that the pirates were the only enemies that the head of Technoid would actually prefer sticking around for entertainment. Plus, he didn't fit the description in the video. When Thran finished his picture analysis, they would be able to tell the height, weight and muscle mass and hopefully even a few extra facial features that they could compare to a list of Technoid employees who had links to the police. The buzzer on her watch went and she checked to see she was already behind schedule.

"Come on Connor, time to go." She announced, stuffing the rest of her breakfast into her mouth.

"I dddyyfff waaaaannn to go!" Connor moaned while still chewing his food so she could only make out half of what he was saying. She could only guessed what he was saying after two years of watching him learn how to talk and plus it was a Friday, he didn't like going Fridays since the twins spent the day at their grandma's leaving Connor all by himself. When the boy was with friends and family he acted confident and outgoing but he had also inherited his mum shy bone and was totally withdrawn when it came to strangers; which made it hard for him to make new friends at the nursery and got very lonely. Though she hated to make her son stay there while she worked, Tia could not trust him with everyone else. Not even the nanny services, especially after last time when she came home early one time and found the old hag going through her personal things and turned out to be an undercover journalist.

"I promise Connor, I won't be long at the office." Tia tried to plead but still, Connor shook his head. The small boy jumped off the chair and tried to make a run for his private pace but Tia was quicker and firmly grabbed his arm before running out of the door. "Oh no you don't!" She warned and tried to hold on as the three year old pulled and yanked to try and get his arm free.

"I'm a big boy, I can look after myself." Connor shouted at his mother angrily as he continued to fight against her iron grip. Sighing deeply, she pinched the top of her nose to stop a headache forming. She did not need this, not now!

"I can look after him again if you like?" D'jok offered from where he sat.

"Oh I don't know D'jok, you already did me a favour yesterday, I would…" She froze when the violent pulling stopped and something wrapped itself around her leg instead. Looking down, she saw Connor wrapping himself around her leg and staring back up at her with the most innocent, desperate, puppy dog eyes she had ever seen. Sighing in defeat she gave in. "I really appreciate this." She smiled, as Connor run passed up and into the living room –probably going through his toy chest to find something for him and her team mate to do- overall, Tia did really appreciate her friend giving up his time to look after her little one.

"It's no problem, though you don't mind me taking him with me to check out my apartment do you?" He asked and Tia shook her head.

At the office, Tia was angry to find out that no one had been able to find the leak yet. Now her mind was acting all faulty because it wasn't able to focus properly. Most of the work she had to do today was look over the preliminaries for the autopsy and a few things the Briar picked up at the scene that she might find interesting. But a thing that did soften her mood was the analysis report that she received back from Thran. At first it had started of grim, with the height of the possible culprit being six foot two and weighed the average man's weight but then her consultant was able to identify bits of long black hair sticking out. Sonny didn't have black hair, so a defence lawyer couldn't argued that it had been the same man twice and the pirate only returned to make it seem like he was trying to help. With this new data they could compare it to any of the finds that Shelly might find to build up the profile. Later today she would be able to give a press conference and take the hot spotlight off the pirate's leader for a while at least. All she needed now was for someone to hunt down that snitch. The phone of her office distracted her from her work.

"Tia de Medic's office." She answered formally, only half listening as she continued to redraft a paper one of the interns wanted her to check over. No one answered on the other side, all she could see was a dark figure and hear someone's deep breathes on the other side. Tia cancelled the signal. It was probably a prank call, she received quite a few of those, it didn't use to be so bad better ever since she got popular a few years ago for taking on some big cases, then her name and number became more well known. The phone began ringing again. She picked it up to answer, about to tell the son of a bitch to fuck off but her beat her to the punch instead.

"You're dead!" A robotic voice cursed on the other side before hanging up. Tia sat their frozen for a few moments before slamming the off button and getting rid of the screen in front of her. Stupid pranks! She cursed and tried to ignore the cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. When the phone rang again, she hesitated to answer it but once she checked the caller id then she was sure she was okay.

"Miss de Medic, everyone's waiting for you in the press conference room." Her secretary called for before quickly signing off. Straitening herself out and making herself look smart, she gave herself a thumbs up before heading off to the press conference.

The crowd was bigger than she thought the room that she had arranged had more reports squashed around the edges then sat down in the seats. As usual, Callie Mystic had somehow managed to fight her way to the front with her floating cameras; that woman was vicious. Tia did her best to ignore them as she made her way towards the stage, where a podium had been placed for her to give her speech out. Before she even had a chance, she was bombard with questions. She had to wait for the security guards to get the crowd settled before she could start her speech. It was short and straight to the point, only releasing a little information and letting them know that there was only circumstantial evidence linking Sonny to the case and for the public to remain calm. It was the basic bullshit she was used to dissing out. They all went for her again, flashing camera's, shoving microphones into her face and shouting questions at her. She pointed at a few and answered their questions with ease until she got to Callie Mystic.

"Is there any evidence to suggest that Technoid saw this as a possibility to get rid of Blackbones?" The report questioned, her face emotionless but eyes and ears were all focused on her ready to catch anything that could give her the main scope.

"No comment." Tia replied, even though she wished she could scream her accusations about Technoid to the heavens, they were still a powerful company and dangerous to across. It was better to curse them with accusation that could stick to them like super glue. But even though Tia was quick to dismiss it, Mystic was just as quick to place the bait back on the line.

"But surely…" Bang! Bang! Bang! Time froze. Tia wasn't really sure what happened at first. She just stared ahead of her, trying to make sense of what just happened. Then she felt something warm and wet across her chest. Looking down she saw red liquid dripping down her white shirt.


	9. Bang!

Everything happened so fast after that. Body guards surrounded her. One held her up, while the others formed a protective circle around her, trying to push passed all the journalists trying to jump them and trying to get pictures of her. Fighting their way through the people, they finally managed to reach the private section. Pushing Tia through first as the others were busy trying to control the riot. The lawyer was sure that she wasn't hit too badly, since she wasn't falling into unconsciousness but the pain was unbelievable; which in a way was also good because it meant that she wasn't suffering from shock. Finally, the guard that was helping her to stand up right slowed down and sat her down on a random seat.

"We need a medic here!" The man shouted to someone in the distance. It wasn't until he spoke, that Tia was able to focus properly and recognise who it was.

"I… hope they didn't get… that on camera." She smiled weakly at Briar, taking deep breathes and finding it difficult to speak clearly. The detective just shushed her up and shouted again for a doctor to hurry up, while he applied more pressure to her wound. Finally, three guys surrounded her, two of them were paramedics and the third a woman wearing a white coat was probably the company's doctor. All of them pushed Briar away as one of the men picked her up and placed her on a carrier. The guy stepped away, allowing room for the doctor to move in but still was close enough to help make her comfortable and adjust the oxygen mask on her face. The doctor had the needle out and ready as she injected morphine into her skin to dull the pain. As they lifted her up, Tia reached out and grabbed on to the detective's wrist. "Make sure Connor's okay?" She asked before the connection was broken when the paramedic's carried her away and in to the back of the vehicle. All Briar could do was watch helplessly as they slammed the back doors and whisked her off to the hospital.

When she woke back out she found herself in a hospital room with her left shoulder feeling strangely stiff. Sitting up, she found her clothes gone and replaced with the paper white dresses you would normally get from hospitals. She guessed she must be on strong doses of morphine because she didn't feel a thing from her shoulder and only having a little trouble moving her it. Sitting upright, she took in the blank room around her. Grabbing the control beside her she pressed the giant red button that sat in the middle of it. It was only a second later that a nurse came walking in.

"It's nice to see you awake Miss de Medic." The old woman smiled as she came to check Tia's vitals. The patient sat their quietly, allowing the woman to inspect her injury and asking her a few question. A few minutes later the doctor finally walked in, looking a little fluster, in fact it almost looked like he had run a marathon to reach her.

"Sorry Miss de Medic, I got stuck with another patient…"

"It's alright doctor." She tried to calm the poor man down. He obviously hadn't been working as a doctor for very long just by looking at how nervous he was; not to mention how young. While the doctor examined her after the nurse, Tia did her best to try and comfort him, just talking normally about normal stuff. Finally, his tense muscles began to disappear and he relaxed. It was quite strange to be acting like this; wasn't the doctor meant to be the one in control. Though as time went by she kept checking the clock and soon she was becoming anxious. It wasn't late but she wanted to get home. She was sure by now that the footage of herself being shoot had been replying for the last three hours now and she wanted to get home and let everyone know she was okay. Resisting the urge to be impatient, she waited for her results.

"Well you should be able to go home but if you fill any dizziness or any pain please come and see me, until then I'll see you in a week for a check-up and here's and prescription for painkillers you can pick up at the chemist." He ordered her sounding like a proper doctor for once. Handing her the forms she would needed, she signed the papers and was led out of the hospital where Thran was waiting for her.

"You know if you wanted some attention all you had to do was ask." He joked and with her good arm, Tia punched him playfully in the arm but there was enough firmness in it just to make a point to him.

Tia had to force herself to remain in the car until it had parked properly, instead of leaping out of the car mid-drive when she saw the glow of her living room window. Even though it was late, she was not surprised to see a small head staring out the window, searching the streets for someone. Thran came and opened the passage door for her and helped her out of the car. Despite the fact that she really didn't need this kind of treatment it was nice to be the one looked after for a change. Looking back at the window she saw her son was gone, probably waiting by the door ready to leap on her when she came in; she was right. The door was barely opened an inch when the boy shoot out and secured himself around her leg as tightly as he could. With her good arm she swept him up and held him tight. She kissed him firmly on the head and held her son close. It was only when she held the small child that she realised how close to death she could have been earlier and that she could of lost Connor; the bright light in her life. The shield that she had built up to protect herself with nearly crumbled. But at the last minute she was able to pull herself together again before anyone saw.

Shifting the boy on to her good side, Tia took in the scene around her. Sonny and D'jok stood back together in the hall way, trying their best to seem normal but it was hard to shift the worried looks of their faces, especially D'jok who had never been very good at lying.

"I'm starving! You guys wanna order take out!" Tia smiled and moved around the house like she normally did. What else could she do? Act all weak in front of her son and make him more worried than he already was! He was only three years old. But no matter how normal or confident she attacked around him the boy still clung to her like he was holding on for dear life; like any second she would just disappear into thin air. Thran followed her into the house, carrying in her belongings like a good gentlemen. The other two men were a little put off by how causal she acted and did not know what to do. Taking the lead, Tia made her way towards the kitchen and took one of the menus from the fridge and made a swift call to the pizza place down the road. Extra-large meat feast without the onion; Tia hated onions. Really she should have sent her son to bed since it was way passed his bed time but she wanted to keep her with him for just a little longer. Besides, he was so hyper that she thought right now it would be impossible to put him to bed.

Over dinner hardly anything was said between the adults. There was some small talk between Thran and Tia for a while but then he got called away on some wedding emergency. Despite Connor's protest, the three year old soon became tired and on Tia's instance that she was okay, helped dressed him for bed and after reading three different Robin Hood adventures finally got him to fall asleep. Making her way back into her office and switched on her lap top. Nothing! No updates, no second lab results and no notes from any eye witnesses. Sighing deeply she turned the machine off. She guessed now was not the good time to start work again, plus, her arm was starting to ache slightly. Creeping her way passed the living room were D'jok and Sonny currently resigned, Tia quietly made her way upstairs and did her best to get herself ready for bed with a busted shoulder. Downing a pain killer and a glass of water, she slid into bed and fell straight to sleep.

She was woken up again by the sound of someone sniffling. At first she thought it was just her imagination but then as the sound became clearer, her ears picked them up as a child's. Suddenly, Tia's motherly instincts kicked in and she sat up alert in her bed, to see her young son standing by the door, clearly debating with himself whether he should come in or not. Sitting herself up into a comfortable position she looked at her son. His face was half covered in darkness from her room, hiding how he felt, while the light from the hall way made the tears on his face glitter.

"Hey little guy." She smiled at her son warmly. "Did you have a bad dream?" In response the boy nodded, still too upset to be able to choke up on his own worlds. "Do you want a hug?" The boy wasted no seconds scrambling on to the bed and curling up on his mum's lap. Tia couldn't help but giggle a little at her boy's actions before scooping him up with her good arm and holding him tight towards her. Trying to comfort him, she began to sing a lullaby she used to sing to him when he was little and rocked him gently back and forth. But soon she began to feel tired and was having trouble comforting her son. It must be the pain killers, Tia thought as she carefully placed Connor on the pillow beside her, the last thing she wanted was to drop the poor boy. The effort to preform that small action seemed to much as sweat began dripping down her forehead. I need a glass of water! She told herself and forced herself off the bed towards her bathroom. But it seemed like gravity had suddenly doubled as she had to work harder to lift her feet and move them forward. By the time she reached the bathroom she was panting heavily. As she grabbed the glass from the sink it instantly slipped from her grasp and smashed on to the floor. She had to grip on to the sink to stop falling on to the floor.

"Mummy!" She heard Connor frantic call from the bed room. Tia wanted to shout back that she was fine and would be there in a second. But her ability to speak had disappeared when she began to vomit. What was going on? She had been shot in the arm not hit by a poison dart. Panic rose in her chest and somehow could not calm herself down. She felt herself slipping away and felt herself falling. She braced herself for the hard impact but just as she was going to hit the floor something caught her.

Tia woke up with the worse headache. Did I go out drinking or something last night? Tia tried to think to herself as she pushed herself off the bed, only to be met with a sharp pain in her shoulder. Now she was confused, she couldn't remember how any of this had happened. Letting her heavy head sink back into the softness of her pillow, the woman closed her eyes again, trying to let some of the dizziness fade away for another attempt. After what seemed like an eternity, Tia was able to get rid of some of the weights in her head and tried again to sit up. This time she was much more successful and was able to push herself up into a sitting position. At least she was in her room, that was a good sign and she didn't see any guy hanging around the place or the fact she was not naked. Why do I feel so terrible? The thought stuck in her head until she looked down and saw her bandaged shoulder. Well I remember that, she wondered, slowly reminisce about the attack on her life. To ease some of the burden of her heavy head, she learnt forward and rested her head on her knees.

"Hey! You're up." D'jok voice echoed from the door way. Looking up she smiled at him; it was nice to see a familiar face. "Head still ringing like a church bell."

"How do you know?" Tia questioned as her friend moved in and sat beside her beside her. Swiping something of the table, he flipped Tia's medication in his hand and checked the white label.

"Warning! Side effects may cause headaches, sickness, muscles failure, faintness, vomiting and hallucinations especially if effected by stress." D'jok read out, giving the lawyer a knowing look. Oh shit! The woman thought to herself and tried to look the other way. It was all starting to come back to her now, the difficulty to move, the vomiting and then blacking out; at least she hadn't be hallucinating, the last thing she wanted was to see Santa Claus coming out the toilet. "Here I brought you some lunch." He offered and handed her a plate with a sandwich.

"Thank you." She spoke quietly and took the food from him.

"Now I don't know how to make pasta bake but I can make a mean cheese and cucumber sandwich." He smiled and even though she wasn't feeling a hundred per cent, Tia could not help but laugh.

"Where's Connor?" She asked, suddenly remembering him as she bit down into her food.

"Thran pick him up to take him to the nursery, he'll be glad to find out that you're okay." He smiled sympathetically at her and patted her hand. When his hand touched hers she had to use all her strength not to suddenly tear her hand away, it was like he was sending a bolt of lightning through her. After a while she slowly retrieved her hand and used it to place her finished plate on the bedside table, so it wouldn't seem weird.

"Tia…" D'jok paused as he tried to think of the next words her said. Uh oh! She thought, a little worried about this sudden change to the atmosphere. When the red head ever paused to actually think over what he was saying then you knew that it was important. "Dad doesn't want you defending him anymore."


	10. Planning Ahead

Not even the sound of breathing seemed to break through the anti-sound barrier that had suddenly fallen over the bedroom. At that moment, all Tia could do was just look at her old friend and try to figure out if she had not just been suffering the effects of hallucinating; it was one of the side effects of her medication after all. But after waiting a few moments and taking a few deep breaths to try and clear her head, nothing else happened. At least certainly no Tarzan suddenly jumping through the bedroom door without his loins, she liked to take this as a good sign that her mind was not making things up. After processing this information through her head, she was able to access D'joks question in her head clearly.

"Do you really think just because you dad asks me to stop I'm going to?" She answered sarcastically, looking at him seriously. Just when he was about to answer she raised her hand to stop him, as she already had an idea what he was going to say. Why did she bother to ask him in the first place? "Firstly, I've already got enough evidence to get Sonny off the hook so asking me to stop something I've already done is stupid, secondly this…" She empathised this point by pointing at her bandaged shoulder. "Is my job I'm used to being shot at all the time." The whole lecture that Tia gave him seemed to hit D'jok hard. Sure, he had probably been expecting her to fight back (she somehow managed to convince Sonny to allow her to come with him when she needed to save her parents) the idea but the cards she dealt him were not easy ones to use against his opponent.

"Yes but you couldn't of been shot at all the time." He tried to counter attack her.

"D'jok! Last week, a witness tried to shot me in the head so he could get the ten quid he was promised to buy more drugs with." The lawyer defended herself, trying to supress the horrible shiver down her back at the memory of the scene. "Honestly, I'm quite honoured that someone actually bothered to hire a professional this time." The woman shrugged and tried to relax against the pillows again but somehow knocked the pillow off the bed instead. Rolling her eyes in annoyance, Tia did something stupid and rolled over.

The action itself was not stupid, neither was the gesture. But it didn't help that she forgot she was only wearing short nightdress and was wearing blue pants that had yellow bunnies on them. She only wished she had thought of this a second earlier, as she rolled on to her side, making the material of her nightie roll up. As soon as the cold air touched her skin she knew that D'jok had a full view of her ass, with only her throng. For half a second she froze, panic and embarrassment rising in her chest. Luckily, being a lawyer did have its benefits, one of those was to adapt to surprises or unwanted situations. Acting normal, Tia continued with her course of action and picked up the pillow and replaced it on her bed. Looking back at D'jok, she noticed that his eyes had moved to quickly in the opposite direction and tried to look at something on the other side of the room and that his cheeks were slightly redder then they should have been. Realising that she had the upper hand in this situation, Tia decided that an opportunity like this was too good to miss.

"What's the matter D'jok? The view not good enough." She teased, making her friends cheeks burn even redder that it was almost the same colour of his hair. Not being able to hold on to the urge, Tia burst out laughing.

Almost immediately after the bunny underwear incident, Tia suddenly came over whelmed with tiredness. D'jok insisted that she went back to sleep (though her was more likely looking for an excuse to hide from his embarrassment)it didn't help that she really didn't have the strength to argue with him and settled going back to bed. Once she woke up again she was shocked to find two large eyes staring back at her. With the animals tongue hanging out of its mouth it leapt on to the bed and lick the side of her face.

"What the hell!" Tia cried out, suddenly on full alert and stared at the creature that sat comfortably on her bed. The beasts tail waved happily as it watched her, its mouth hanging open as if it was smiling at her and its dark eyes sparkled brightly with excitement. Why is there a dog in my house? The woman thought wide eye as they just stared at each other.

"Mummy! You're awake." Connors voice echoed around the room and the next thing she knew he had jumped on the bed and was beside her, waving an odd looking toy around. The German shepherd snuggled his nose under her sons arm for attention and that her son was more the happy to stroke him. The two of them sat together comfortably, like they had met before; all Tia could do was watch.

"Mindy! Where are you?" A voice echoed somewhere outside. In response, the dog barked happily to announce where she was. Seconds later, D'jok was back inside.

"Tia! I'm so sorry… Mindy get down." He ordered but instead of following his orders, the dog leaped on to Tia's other side and tried to hide beneath her pillows. The dog looked up with her gorgeous puppy dog eyes, pleading with the lawyer to let him stay here. Then out of nowhere, Tia just burst out laughing.

"Well hello." She smiled at the dog and began tickling the animals stomach.

"I'm so sorry Tia, it's just the maid freaked out when she saw the dog, so I had to bring her here for a while…"

"D'jok! It's fine, really!" She tried to ease them, admiring the German shepherd's glossy coat. "She's gorgeous." The lawyer sighed, as the animal laid it's self over her body. Squeezing up beside her, Connor dangled the toy in front of the animals face, suddenly caught the animals attention, those large eyes following the toy around slowly.

"Fetch!" Connor shouted, throwing the toy through the door. Mindy leapt from the bed and disappeared through the door, hearing the thumps of the floorboards as it disappeared down the stairs. Before anyone had a chance to say anything, the dog reappeared and landed back on the bed. Dropping the toy on the foot of the bed and waited patiently for it to be thrown again.

Despite their best efforts, Tia's team had found nothing usual to forward the case, which meant she could do nothing until something turned up or another victim. Leaning against her bedroom window, she watched Sonny play with her son. She smiled as she witnessed Sonny lift her boy high in the air and swing him around. How did this happen? Tia wondered to herself. Her belief in karma had vanished when she met Sonny Blackbones. No matter how much good this man did the universe always seemed to be against him. The one chance she had to help him with one problem was disappearing slowly. The trail of this case was getting cold quickly. But no matter how much she wanted to change it, the image of adding another case file to unsolved cases seemed to be getting worse.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" D'jok suggested from the doorway. Both men had learned quickly to keep their distance when Tia was in her own world, if he had been standing next to her she may of accidently disabled him or worse.

"I've been resting all week D'jok." She retorted, sighing deeply in frustration. A strong smell of cologne caught her attention and she turned to see her friend standing beside her, staring out the window to see what she was looking out. He was in a black tuxedo, with the collar of his grey shirt opened at the top and his tie draped around his neck. Usually, Tia hated the smell of cologne but the one she had smelt was pretty nice. What almost made her laugh was that his usually messy hair had sort of been tamed with hair gel. "You look very pretty." She teased, dragging her friend's attention away from the outside, making a face at her.

"Charity benefit." He shrugged, "got to put on a big smile and pretend to laugh at boring jokes."

"I feel your pain." She really did. When she was younger her parents would drag her to charity balls that were filled with snobs just looking for an excuse to party. "Here, let me do that." She offered to help, taking the tie from his neck and knotted it for him. It felt weird doing it. Light puffs of air blew on her fingers, as he stared down to try and watch her handy work.

"Thanks." He smiled, as she finished.

"You look good in a suit." Tia admired before she could take back what she said. Having Mei as a girlfriend could really rub off on you, in the fashion department at least. "Your date will be very impressed."

"If I had a date." D'jok replied, looking away from her as he fixed his collar.

"D'jok! The most famous play boy with no date." Sarcastically pretending to faint at this news but due to her condition, the man misunderstood the interruption. She found her friends arms wrapped around her and pressed closer to his body, as he lowered her to the bed, his cologne smelt stronger. "Calm down, I was only playing, Jeez!" Slapping the man lightly on the shoulder. In response, the footballer began turning a bright red for over reacting.

"Sorry." He mumbled and turned away to sort his shirt out. At first, Tia thought she should say something but reconsidered, as the man would more likely have his pride more hurt then it already was. Instead she focused her attention back on the outside, just in time to see the duo return inside the house.

Leaving D'jok to finish, Tia headed down stairs, trying to remember what was in the fridge so she could fix herself something to eat. Turns out there weren't much. When was the last time I went shopping? She tried to think to herself but the last few days just seemed to blur together. Sighing, she took out the cheese and made herself a sandwich with the last of the bread. Instinctively, she began making a mental list of chores she needed to do, as soon as she was well enough. She groaned when she saw how gigantic the pile of dirty clothes had gotten from her absence. The laundry seemed to be growing to the size of Mount Everest, she didn't know how she was ever going to do all of it, then again… the pile of dirty clothes never seemed to disappear. Returning to the kitchen, she began to go through the other cupboards to see what else needed to be replaced. Yuck! How longs has that been there? Tia wondered as she inspected an old jar of mustard. The echo of her sons' laughter echoed into the room, who came running into the room and diving into the cabinet under the sink for cover. The pirate came sliding into the room, searching ever inch.

"Hide and Seek." Tia stated, watching Sonny check every hidden spot in vain.

"I know we're not supposed to play it with him but you've got to admit, he gives you a run for your money." Sonny answered, cautiously approaching the doors of the sink doors. "Aha!" The pirate cheered when he threw open the doors, but there was no three year old hidden among the contents. Giving up, the pirate left to check the living area. Ten seconds later, Connor came back out, to find another hiding pace. How does he do that? Tia wondered to herself, as she got to her knees and inspected the cabinet, just to make sure there weren't any hidden doors he could have hidden behind. After no success, she closed the door and went back to cleaning out her cupboards. Sadly, not all mysterious could be solved.

D'jok didn't return for three days. During that time, Tia was making herself go to the gym to regain some of her strength back, realising that she had a lot of work to do to replace the muscle she lost. The house had been cleaned from top to bottom with the spare time she had, since she had another few days free before she went back to work and Sonny was looking after Connor. However, Tessa was making sure her friend was kept busy. Even though the wedding was a few weeks to do there was still much to do. Theresa was playing the role as the commanding officer, triple checking all appointments and arrangements for the day so nothing went wrong. All Shelly and Tia had to do was play the faithful supporters and hope she didn't bite their heads off. There were just two jobs that Tia was responsible for as the best man, looking after the wedding rings and organising the stag party.

"You what!" Thran cried out, once he had heard the list of activities had planned.

"What's wrong with hiring strippers?" Tia suggested, up until she mentioned it, she had been doing pretty well.

"Well… it's just…" Poor Thran seemed lost at what else to say at the notion. "Since you were going to be there… you would feel uncomfortable with…" Again, the computer genius was lost. Topless women? Tia wanted to suggest but didn't want to knock Thran unconscious.

"I'm not going to be there." It looked like Thran was about to protest, so she placed her hand up to silence him. "The babysitter goes home at ten so someone has to stay with the kids… don't worry Briar will look after you." She added on when she saw the panicked look on his face. At least knowing Briar was going to be there seemed to calm him down a bit, the detective was probably the most sensible man in the universe. If there was anyone that was going to look out for him it was defiantly going to be Briar.

Tia, Sonny and Connor were all hanging out in the living room when the door went off. On instinct, Sonny disappeared from the room, leaving Connor and Tia quickly tidying away the evidence of a thrid person. It was a habit that had gotten into, even though Tia never let anyone else in the house, it help made Sonny feel comfortable that there was no evidence of his presence. With the worse of it gone, it was safe enough to open the door.

"Don't worry it's just me." D'jok smiled, dressed in his casual attire, his hair returned to normal. She stepped aside to let him in, checking the outside just to make sure there weren't any paparazzi lurking about. The last thing she wanted was someone like Callie Mystic jumping out of nowhere and asking questions.


	11. Threats

It was the last fitting before the wedding and Tia was glad that the muscle had returned quickly, otherwise she would have looked like a sunken skeleton in a baggy suit. The suit was comfortable against her skin, knowing Tessa would have stopped at no expense to have the most expensive silk for the dresses. It was a good thing that Theresa handled most of the bills otherwise Thran would have a heart attack (despite the fact he probably had enough to buy three planets with) even though Tia promised to never tell Thran the total cost, it was tempting to show him the amount of zero's just to see his facial expression. Next to her stood Connor, his face twisted and miserable like he had a thunder cloud hanging over his face. If there was one thing that her son hated it was dressing up in clothes he was not allowed to get dirty.

"Cheer up, five more minutes and then a new toy." Tia reassured, kissing him on the head. Blackmail was not something Tia wanted to encourage, but in tough situations like this, sometimes it was the only answer. Even with the promise of a new toy her son did not look happy. With a few more adjustments to each suit, the two of them were free to leave.

In the toy store, Connor was taking his time picking the perfect gift for himself. Tia smiled as she watched him, watching him act like a battery as he bounced from shelf to shelf, examining every detail of the objects; she had never seen him look so serious before. Meanwhile, she was also looking among the shelves herself, trying to help him find something. But everything seemed so babyish for him. Even though her son was only three, the boy was intelligent beyond his years. It only made the job harder as the older stuff just looked dangerous. An endless battle, she sighed as she continued walking along the store floor. Turning around, she saw her son inspecting some kind of action figure, looking at it carefully before shaking his head and placing it back. She got distracted reading the instructions of a car racing set when she bumped into someone.

"Sorry." Both of them said at the same time, only a second later realising who they were looking that.

"Tia!" Mei called out in surprise, pulling her old team mate into a hug. Thankfully, she was able to hold back the urge to punch her in the face; it was not the best way to greet an old best friend. Instead she hugged the woman back.

"Mei it's so good to see you." Tia beamed back, stepping away to take in her friends appearance. The woman looked stunning as ever, she still had the flawless curves, shape features and big blue eyes that earned her the title of the sexiest woman in the universe. Even though, the blonde had accepted long ago that she could never stand up to the same standards as her friend, she still felt the dark void over her mind that poked at her confidence.

"What are you doing here?" Mei asked. It was then that Tia remembered that there was a three year old boy loose among the store. Turning around, she found Connor gone.

"Connor!" She called out but no response. Panic rose in her chest. All she could think about were the child missing cases she had handled over the years. It only took a second. One bloody second of not watching him was all they needed. She knew that and yet she had let it happen. Franticly, she began searching down the aisle. "Connor where are you?" She shouted louder, this time she was answered with a musical note. Turning around the corner, she found the boy playing with the piano bricks on the floor.

"Mummy! Mummy! Can I have this?" He beamed at her, while taking giant steps to try out the out keys. Without thinking, she ran to him and pulled him into a hug.

"I'll buy the whole store if you want. Just… just don't disappear like that again, okay." She pleaded with him. The young child just stared at his mother, unsure of why she was so worried.

"It's okay mum, I just want the piano." He grinned, pressing two other musical buttons to get his point across. Tia was so relieved that she didn't care about the complications it would cause.

"Tia. Are you alright?" Hearings Mei's voice reminded Tia that she had just gone berserk in a toy store.

"Oh Mei…" Tia paused, trying to regain her calm composure. "This is my son Connor, Connor, Mei is an old friend of mine." At first the boy hid behind her legs, unsure of how to react to the tall lady with the longest amount of hair he had ever seen. In a way, she reminded him of the Disney princess Rapunzel. Bending down, Tia nudged the boy forward so he could meet the actress properly.

"Hi." The three year old mumbled, still clinging slightly to his mother's leg.

"Well hello, aren't you the cutest kid I've ever seen." Mei beamed, ruffling the boy's hair. Connor smiled a little back, though all he could think about was getting his toy and then heading home to play with it. The lawyer had to cover her mouth to supress the laughter; she wouldn't be surprise if she was reading her sons mind. Despite the fact she loved her friend, Mei was only good with female children, she found it easier to talk about dress up and playing with dollies. Having a boy around just confused the living daylights out of her; she was never one for getting dirty unless it involved mud baths. "He looks so much like you Tia, I never knew you married."

"Well… actually." She stumbled, lifting her left hand up to show no ring on the wedding finger.

"Oh I didn't mean to jump to con…"

"It's okay Mei; everyone does it all the time." Tia tried to ease her friend's guilt. But what she said was true. If anyone was ever lucky enough to be introduced to her son then they instantly thought she was married. She had gotten used to people coming up to that conclusion quickly.

"Mum! Can we go and buy the piano now?" Connor asked, jumping up and down the piano keys to make musical sounds.

Later on, Tia had successfully changed her son's mind about the piano, but she had to give in when it came to buying a full pirate outfit with matching sword and hook. She now had Mei's phone number added into her contacts, promising to meet her old friend up for a cup of coffee before the wedding. Connor was showing off his new pirate suit to Sonny, who had been napping on the couch. D'jok was hiding in the kitchen, having a private conversation on the phone, he turned around to give her a quick wave, before turning back to his conversation. She left him to it, sneaking into her office. Surprisingly, she hadn't expected to find a message from her fax machine waiting for her. It was a habit to go in her office and check if she had any updates and usually if there was anything important, someone would just call her. She looked at the fax in confusion; her secretary had notified her that a package had been dropped off at her office. Still, she was intrigued to know what it was

"Sonny, will you look after Connor for me while I pick up something from the office?" She asked, just in time to find her son fully dressed in his new outfit.

"To the plank lassie!" Connor shouted, pointing his sword at her. Sonny tried to looking innocent, oblivious to the evil glares that Tia was aiming at him.

"Sure I can do that." Sonny spoke towards the window, turning his attention towards the three year old and hoisting him on to his shoulders. Leaving them to it, Tia left to investigate the package.

Everyone at the office was shocked for half a second when they saw Tia walked into the office. Then they realised it was Tia they were thinking about and knew she wasn't the type to take a month lead like she was supposed to do. In addition they were too busy with cases they had to solve to pay any attention for more than a second. Thankfully, she remembered to grab her idea, as security had seemed to have doubled after her shooting incident. She found her secretary working away, doing her best to keep order in the amount of cases that needed sorted, which were growing at an alarming rate.

"Miss de Medic!" Her secretary called out in surprises, a young grad student, who was attempting to get work experience in the law firm. Tia was always changing her assistance every few months, so that it was harder for them to be bribed for information, plus they weren't placed in any danger of drawing any attention for important information they may achieve. "I was just about to ring you, someone left a package for you." She indicated to the large box that lay on the desk.

"Phone me?" Tia questioned, looking back and forth between the young woman and the delivery. "I got a fax from you to come and get it." Both of them looked at the box at the same time, studying it. It was a rectangle shape, plain with brown wrapping around it. From where Tia stood, she could see no sign of an address or any indication where it had come from. She phoned the bomb squad.

Finding herself with a gun pointed at her was something that Tia had become used to over the years. Bombs were rarer but she had come toe to toe with them nevertheless. She had been lucky first time, an assistant had read the number wrong and sent it to another office, three people died. One of them had been a close friend. Tia sent the bastard who done it to life imprisonment without any chance of patrol; it didn't feel like enough. The second attempt, the bomber had wired it wrong so it didn't blow up when she opened it. Since then, she didn't open anything that was made to look inconspicuous. She watched behind the glass with the man in charge, ordering his men what to do. Her assistant had left, unable to watch. The bomb disposal unit did an excellent job as they placed the package in a safe box and started scanning the contents inside. They all came up negative. Confused the chief ordered the box to be cut open. In his protective suit, the man bomb disposer took his time peeling it open. On the positive side, there was no bomb. On the negative side, there was a pair of eyeballs staring back at everyone.

Tia had to phone home and inform Sonny he would have to look after Connor for a little longer. She hadn't expected to be waiting around the office for another three hours. Witnesses were interviewed, place had to be dusted for DNA and security camera's had to be checked. But no one knew how the package got into her room. One minute her office was clear and the next there was a box sitting on top of her desk. Even the fax machine had been rewired to leave no trace. Her brain hammered against her skull as she dropped another tablet into the water. Tiny bubbles hovered to the surface as the white circle slowly dissolved. The familiar tapping of Briars leather shoes made her turn around to see him. Tired skin sagged from under his eyes.

"Go home Tia, there's not much else you can do here." Speak for yourself! Tia thought to herself but knew whatever she said would just fall on death ears. Besides he was right, there was no reason to stay around anymore. She patted him on the shoulder and ordered him to get to bed soon, something she was sure was going to be ignored.

"Hey Tia!" A voice called for her and she turned around to see her boss coming towards her, along with someone else, who she had never met before. He was very attractive, with dark hair hanging over his chocolate brown eyes, a well tailor suit to show off his trimmed figure and a dazzling white smile that reflected his perfect tanned skin. She had to shake her head hard to focus on her boss again. "Tia I just heard of what happened, I hope you're alright." Davis questioned, the concern on his face was real.

"Fine Davis, nothing to worry about." She waved off his concerned like she usually did when Davis was worried about her. "You should know I'm used to these things by now."

"Well, I'm upset that you were back to work so quickly, you weren't trying to do some work were you." He teased, trying to break the tension.

"No Davis, I just came into pick up the package." She shrugged. "Guess it didn't turn out well." It made her boss laugh, it was good to see him smiled under such stressful conditions. Davis always blamed himself when one of his employees in danger, especially if it happened in his own building. No matter how much money he got his company to spend on security, the bad guys always found a way to sneak through it.

"Tia, this is Mark Flanders, I was just interviewing him for the Senior Partner position." Tia and Mark shook hands but there was something in the way he looked at her the made her feel like a mouse being targeted by a bird of prey.

"It's nice to meet you." Mark smiled, white teeth flashing off against tanned skinned.

"It's nice to meet you too Mr Flanders." Tia answered. Just then, one of the tech's working in her office slipped over and whispered something into her boss' ear.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid my attention is need elsewhere." Davis apologised to his two companions, giving a sympatric nod to Tia before turning to the other man. "It was good to meet you Mr Flanders, I'll be contacting you soon about the position." The man assured, holding out his hand for Mr Flanders to shake.

After all that had happened, Tia was just glad to be in the fresh air again. The sun was still high in the sky, so there was still a few hours to get things done. She still needed to pick out shoes for he son, go through the case files that had been dropped off at her office (before the whole bomb threat) and then she would have cook dinner for everyone at home tonight; which reminded her that she needed to pick up some food before she got home.

"I wish we could have met under better circumstances Miss de Medic." Mr Flanders smiled, his dazzling teeth making Tia's stomach perform a flip flop. Man this guy is smoking! Tia could help to wonder, only just releasing that she had used the word 'smoking' to describe a guy. She hadn't done that since… No! She refused to think of him right now. He was ancient history.

"Trust me, I've been in worse circumstances." Tia shrugged, trying not to notice how close she was standing next to her. Why had she not released this before?

"I don't mean to sound forward but would you like to go on a date tonight?"


	12. Bad Dates

**Sorry for the long wait guys, life just been hectic. Here's the update you've all been waiting for! **

Tess had the worse timing ever. As soon as Mr Flanders asked the question, the dress designer came bouncing up behind her. The woman took it upon herself to answer for Tia, as if she believed she could read her brain waves. Now Tia was on a date that she wanted no part in. Regardless of how hot Mr Flanders was, Tia saw the ambitious spark in his eyes. He probably thought that getting on Tia's good side would give him a step up to getting the new senior position. But Tess didn't really care about, all she cared about was getting her friend screwed.

"Honestly Tia, I don't know how you lived for so long without sex!" Tess cried out so loud that not even the music from the radio could drown her out. It was true what she said but what could she do. Tia was a single mother who had to spilt her time between being a kick ass lawyer and baking cookies for the next kids birthday party. In fact, Tia found it hard to believe that her friends still had time to be parents, work and hump each other like they were rabbits. The only reasonable answer was that they took some kind of drug that they were too selfish to give her.

"I just don't have the time Tess!" Tia repeated for the fifth time. Now that she thought about it, she had been saying it over the last four years, what had made her think Tess would start listening to her now. "Besides, he doesn't like me, I'm just a pawn he thinks he can use to further his position."

"Don't be so pessimistic Tia!" Tess snapped. Now Tia was beginning to think the topic was shifting on to another argument that had made previous appearances. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, Tia could feel herself becoming more and more cynical. In her defence, she had put enough sicko's away to be wary of people now. Since she didn't want to get into this discussion again, Tia quickly changed tactics.

"Let's just get pasted your wedding first before we go planning mine." The lawyer insisted, breaking at the red light. Changing to her wedding worked like a charm, Tess couldn't stop talking about the final alterations to her dress. Doing her best to listen to her friend's concentration, Tia tried not to think of the horror of walking down the aisle of hundreds of people staring at her.

Dinner time meant double portions now that Sonny and D'jok visited almost every evening. It was nice to have company around in evenings. Though it was hard not to remember that the only reason they were all together was because of Sonny's condition. Still… it was nice. Connor seemed to thrive on the extra attention he was getting from the men, always talking football with D'jok or showing off one of his new toy inventions that he had made that morning. Even the additional pile of dishes didn't matter, as D'jok offered to help clean them every night while Sonny watched the boy.

"Another event! Didn't you get another funding for the school?" Tia inquired, after D'jok had informed (or rather complained) to her that he had to kiss ass to rich donators again.

"This isn't for the football academy, this is to fund projects in the poor districts of Akillian." The striker pointed out.

"Oh! You mean the 'Help the Children Campaign' Davis is going to that as well." She couldn't believe she had just remembered it. Every year Tia donated a large sum of money through the firm. "If you get bored just go and talk to him, trust me he's a great guy."

"Hm." Was all he muttered, taking the other plate from her. It was the way he snatched it that set alarm bells off in her head; it just felt wrong.

"Are you okay?" Tia questioned, not sure what else to do or say.

"Fine." D'jok replied bluntly, placing the plates in the cupboard, the clanking noises that came from the china empathises the sound of force behind them, she hoped none of them were broken. Before she could say anything else, the man stormed out of the room, his shoulders strangely tense. Men? Shaking her head, she tidied up the rest of the kitchen before going back to join the boys in the living room. D'jok didn't even attempt to notice her presence, his eyes were focused on the flames of the fire place. Whatever his problem was hurt Tia deeply, even if it was stupid. But she didn't show it as she went to play with her son.

Somehow, Tess managed to convince Tia to get the guy at least a chance. The days leading up to it had been unbearable as the fashionista dragged her around every shop that existed on Genesis. In the end, she was able to find a strapless green dress that went down to her ankles but had a slit to her knee. On the night, Tess made it her job to make her friend look her best, which meant dealing with dangerous eyelash curlers and hot wax. By the end of it Tia wasn't sure if a single hair was left on her body, apart from her head at least. The only thing that got her through it was thinking of the miserable time D'jok would be having tonight. She still hadn't had a chance to speak to him about his weird behaviour, but then again, what was the point since the next day he had acted completely normal.

At least the hard part of a date was over, getting dressed. Tess had dragged the lawyer into every shop on Genesis before finally finding a dress they could both agree on. It was a long but simple black dress, which had a slit that showed off half her thigh. It was strapless and the material hugged her body comfortably and despite what Tia thought about dresses she did have to admit she looked totally hot in it. Thankfully, Tess had also taken control of her hair and make-up, which was something she also failed to learn properly. Who knew just adding a bit of lipstick and mascara could do so much? If applied properly anyway. Slipping on her silver heels, Tia gave herself one last look in the mirror. The hidden girly girl inside her suddenly reappeared, before she could think of anything else found herself twirling to her reflection.

"You look amazing." It was only a slight whisper but the voice almost made the woman have a heart attack on the spot. She couldn't stop her cheeks turning red when she caught D'jok standing by the door frame. "Sorry… I just needed some help with my tie." The man shrugged, helplessly dangling a black strand of material from his finger. Recovering quickly, Tia snatched the tie up and lassoed it around his neck.

"Honestly D'jok, you're twenty-eight and you've still not worked out how to put on a tie." Tia teased, finishing off the knot.

"I can do a tie!" The man protested, huffing in a childish matter that made Tia laugh. "You just do them better."

"Huh." Was her only response as she tightened the knot. She hadn't meant to be standing so close to him but feeling his warm breath on her forehead made her stomach flip. Quickly, she took a step back hoping to place some distance between them, only to stumble back on her heel. If D'jok hadn't had his arm out to catch her who knows what would have happened. Besides, his palm felt just right in the curve of her back.

"Gurl! You've got it going on tonight!" Tess beamed, giving Tia a thumbs up. In just under a second, Tia and D'jok seemed to be able to find themselves on the opposite side of the room. Regaining her own support quickly, she turned herself away from the man and began fiddling with her hair.

"Glad you think that." Was all Tia could say, unable to get her mind straight. Focus Tia! She tried to tell herself but when she caught a glimpse of D'jok in the mirror again, she felt herself looking away. Thankfully, Tessa was there to help her put a little bit.

"Come on! Tall, dark and drop dead gorgeous is waiting for you downstairs." Tess squeaked, dragging her friend down stairs. Terrific! Tia secretly whined to herself. Nevertheless, she was glad to be in open space, even if it was with her friends overwhelming enthusiasm. And there was Mark Flanders. Leaning against the door like he already owned the place. The closure she got to him the more she was regretting this date. When he finally took notice of Tia, he let out a high wolf whistle.

"You look fantastic." The man grinned. Despite Tia's dread towards the night out she couldn't help but blush at his words, she was very rarely complemented on how she looked.

"You don't look so bad yourself." She teased and she wasn't far off. His tanned skin did look good against the dark silk.

"Shall we." Mark smiled, offering his hand for take. Tia watched it carefully, almost as if she was expecting to coil around her arm and never let go. With a light nudge from Tess, Tia sighed in defeat and allowed for Mark to take her down the stairs.

Her date was the showing of type. Mark had taken her to the newest restaurant, it was supposed to be the place to be at the moment. She had even seen a few celebrities passing in and out of the place. It was the worse place that he could have possibly taken her. She didn't like being in the public eye. Sure, she could handle a press conference every now and again but that was work. Even stepping out of the car seemed to be a challenged as photographs blinded her with their flashes. She did her best to hide from them but it was pretty hard to do that when her date was trying to tug her towards the camera's. At least when they were inside there was some distance restriction so that people could eat in peace. Another thing she hated about these places was how people treated the staff. It wasn't like everyone did it. But she soon discovered that her date was one of the mean lot.

"Give him a break Mark." Tia finally snapped. The man had been barking at the poor waiter for about fifteen minutes over wine choices. They had only been her for about sixteen. The other lawyer looked at her like she had committed all seven of the deadly sins.

"I'm sorry Tia but the service in this place…"

"Has been nothing but charming ever since we've arrived." She interrupted, the table cloth wriggled between her clenched fist. "I think it's time we call it a night." And without any further conversation.

No way a taxi was stopping for her. She must of scared most of them off. The fury that radiated from her body must have attacked anyone walking by her. It wasn't like she could wait outside for long with the paparazzi buzzing around. She had no choice but to walk home instead, at least she had a chance to cool off before she got home. But if she thought her luck was bad now it was going to get worse. Maybe if she had been looking up at the sky she would have seen the signs. It was only when the first rain droplet smacked her on the nose. Oh great! She cursed as she dashed for shelter but it was already too late to save her outfit. The fabric stuck to her skin, rubbing uncomfortably against her body. If her clothes were this bad she hate to think what her make up looked like.

"Taxi!" She cried out, sticking her thumb out for a lift but the only response she got was dirty water sprayed at her face. It was the exact response she got with the three following taxi's. God! I must look worse than I thought, Tia thought, doing her best to insulate her chest with her arms while pushing damp hair out of her eyes. With no more luck, Tia began to walk again, struggling against the elements as the weather intensified and fighting to keep balance on her feet as her heels attempted to make every step difficult. Mentally, Tia was beating herself up for not getting a cab beforehand. Why did she have to insist on walking home. If being blinded by water wasn't bad enough it was about to get worse when light smacked her in the face. The force was so strong that Tia actually stumbled backwards, her heel slipping on the pavement sent her flying backwards.

For a moment she lay there, unsure of what to do or think. All she could feel were the drops of water stabbing into her numb physique. Echoing sounded in the background but she could not make out the words or the voice that called out to her. Suddenly, something entered her vision, shielding her from the pelts of water. Slowly, her vision began to return and she found herself staring up at D'jok. Thank God! She wanted to cry out but her throat felt swollen.

"Come on, let's get you out of this rain!" Were the only words she was able to make out in the end as she lifted her up and carried her to his limo.


	13. Mistakes

If one thing could be said about D'jok, it was that he had good taste. His hotel room was top rate with the silk furniture's, high glass windows and a roaring fire place; it was like living in a penthouse. They never made it back to Tia's apartment. The man was way too paranoid about her head injury but she was too stubborn to go to the hospital. So they stopped at his hotel. It was much closer and with the rain increasing in strength every second, it was impossible for the driver to see anything out the window. The hotel doctor had check her over, saying that she was fine but if she began feeling dizzy then she was too call him right away. Even after being batted by hailstones, the warmth of the shower was a soothing comfort to her body. All of Tessa's work had been washed away and was replaced with damp hair and a plain face. Sighing deeply, Tia looked away from the mirror and waited for the steam to block off her reflection. She had to face it, she was never going to be beautiful like the models or actresses scene all over the place. What was she thinking? Tia hadn't thought like this in over six years.

Since she didn't have any spare clothes, she had to make do with a pair of spare boxes and a t-shirt (that acted like a baggy dress) that D'jok had been kind enough to give her. It felt weird. She was used to wearing these sorts of clothes; she just wasn't use to wearing stuff in other people's apartments. Slowly, she made herself open the door. She hesitated in the doorway for a second before pushing off her heels, forcing herself in the open. Her friend was in the kitchen, making hot drinks for both of them. When he finally noticed her, his face grew red (almost the same colour of his hair) and turned away to hide his face. She knew she looked ridiculous in these clothes; they were just way too big.

"Ha, Ha! Laugh it up, I don't look that bad." Tia sighed, falling into the couch. For a moment it looked like he was going to say something but then reconsidered last second. He joined her on the sofa, handing her a hot mug before sitting on the opposite side of the couch.

"So… I take it the date didn't go well." D'jok blurted out, trying to fill in the silence between them.

"I guess I just have an aura that attracts assholes." Tia shrugged, drinking the tea. That one sip made her feel a millions times better. It was just the way she liked it. Then again, if you were going to be friends with Tia, you had to learn how to make her tea properly; most important survival tip.

"Don't put yourself down like that Tia… any guy would be lucky to have you." It was properly the most common thing anyone said to her after an unsuccessful date or it was either 'that asshole isn't worth your trouble.' All she could do was give a silent nod in response. If she had it her way she won't talk about this subject until her dying day. Every man she had dated had been a total jackass. Okay except two. Actually, more like one and a half. Taken the silence as a hint, D'jok backed off from the subject. Inwardly, Tia smiled, happy that D'jok had decided to let it go.

For a while they sat calmly just drinking their tea. The only movement that was made was when she leaned over to place her empty cup on the coffee trouble. A sudden pain at the back of her head startled the woman making her hiss in pain. She was beginning to feel dizzy again, maybe she should call the doctor back.

"Are you okay?" D'jok questioned, suddenly appearing next to her and sliding an arm around her waist to steady her. Not that it mattered much; she was sitting down after all.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tia tried to laugh the moment off. The moment had passed as quickly as it come, she didn't need to make her mate worry over a few seconds. She was perfectly fine; until she looked into his eyes. As corny as it sounds, when she looked into his emerald orbs, her heart did skip a beat.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He pressed on, sliding a head across her fore head to check her temperature. How did they suddenly get so close? This had been happening a lot lately. All they would be doing was talking or just laughing and suddenly, their faces were an inch away from each other. Not matter how hard she tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach; she couldn't stop her heart racing. Did she really like this guy? They were friends sure but… could they be more than that. Her question was quickly answered when she kissed him. At first she wasn't even aware on what she had done. Her body just went ahead. When she finally realised what she was doing she considered stopping. But she couldn't. His mouth felt so good against hers. In that moment she was totally lost, not even realising that she was straddling him and that his hands were sliding up her top.

At first she hadn't been paying attention to the warmth on the back of her neck. She had just been happy that she was feeling… well, happy. The mattress beneath her felt so much softer than the one she was used too and she was sure her covers weren't made of silk. It was only when her mind began to wake up a little more that she realised that the warmth on her back was someone's breathe. She could almost feel her eyes pop out of her head when her body went into shock. Fearing that she might wake the person next to her, she didn't dare move a muscle. In fact, the idea of even breathing was out of the question. For that moment Tia could only trust her eyes to look around for her, to deduce where she was. But the only thing she could figure out was that she was in an expensive room. Her only choice was to turn around and face the guy that was next to her. But when she recognised the flaming hair she stumbled out of the bed.

THUD!

Her butt slammed on to the floor, dragging half the covers with her. The blanket was tangled around her legs, trapping her in the process. All the noise woke the other sleeper up. His eyes were half closed, still half asleep despite the chaos. Then his eyes landed on her. A sudden current shot between them, somehow enlightening their shared memories of last night. For once, Tia's face turned redder then D'jok's hair. It was even more embarrassing wrestling from the sheets and running out of the room, attempting to grab her clothes on her way out.

Tia wished she wasn't so uptight and kept alcohol in her office. She thought her ability to overwork might help her forget about everything but she couldn't stop thinking of how badly she reacted (and other things at that apartment) maybe a big swing whisky would help her out. Now she had nothing but a throbbing headache. Her hand began to hover over the telephone but she quickly withdrew it. All day she had wanted to call D'jok and talk to him but every time her hand made its way to the phone she halted. What was she going to say to him? 'Hey D'jok, sorry for having sex with you and then leaving' for some reason it didn't sound right. Slamming her head on the table, she grumbled on about how stupid she was.

"What are you doing here Tia?" Davis echoed from the distance, snapping Tia out of her thoughts.

"I could ask the same about you?" She retorted, hoping to turn the tide. But her boss wasn't letting her off the hook so easily.

"It's the weekend Tia! Why aren't you at home with your son?" It was a good question. Usually, the lawyer would attempt to avoid working on weekends on all costs unless it was an emergency. But she couldn't face going home. Her phone was flooded with texts and voice mail asking how last night went from Tess and Sonny seemed to sense something was up. She had been hoping that her office would provide her with some tranquillity; at least for a little while.

"Just finishing off some paperwork Davis." She shrugged but she could tell by the frown on his face that he didn't believe her one bit.

In the end her boss had ordered her home, even insisting that she take Monday off as well. Why couldn't she be normal? According to social standards she should have been happy to get an extra day off work. In her case she was feeling completely miserable. At that moment she wished she could have anything to distract her. When her phone rang, she believed the universe might be on her side after all.

"Hey Thran!" She smiled, glad to hear from him instead of Tessa at the moment.

"Tia! You are going to make me deserts forever when you hear this!" The man cried out in joy as he recited information that made Tia do back flips in the middle of the street.

Even with her range of contacts it was still almost impossible to get Duke Maddox to appear on time for a meeting. The man believed he was simply more important than everyone else, the billion dollar company he owned just seemed to boost his ego. Additionally, the man's bloody secretary seemed to believe she was the queen of the universe, judging by the haughty look on her face. Years of experience allowed Tia to perfect her ability to ignore such looks. When the phone rang, the secretary picked it up immediately but took her time speaking to whoever was on the other line.

"Duke Maddox will see you now." She mumbled, continuing with her own paperwork. About time! Tia kept to herself, as she smoothed the wrinkles out of her outfit.

It hadn't been the first time she had walked into a CEO's office to take them head on; but none of them had been the owner of Technoid. She could only guess that her technique would do well in this situation, it hadn't failed her so far.

As usual the head company's office was enormous and had a dark menacing look to it. Tia didn't understand why powerful people had to have such intimating offices. Did they really need to push the point of how dominating they were through decoration? Another thing about these types of offices was that they had huge windows that seemed to overlook the whole city. Even when she sat down the man's outline did not block the massive view. Her hands rested calmly on her lap, securing the two files she carried within her reach.

"How can I help Miss Medic…?"

"It's de Medici." Tia corrected, which she was used to. For some reason powerful people were just determined to get her name wrong. Sure it was from Italian descent but it was spoken just like it was spelt.

"My apologies." The man continued, even though he didn't seem sorry. In fact he seemed to be sizing her up. "I was told you had some important to discuss with me." At this, Tia couldn't help but smile. This is when things got interesting.

"I'm here to discuss your involvement with Detective Johnson." She inquired, tossing one of her files on to his desk. "I found it very strange to have you calling Detective Johnson three times on March 3rd from your own personal line and suddenly half an hour later placed twenty thousand pounds in his bank accountant." When she first said it he looked like he didn't believe her. But then he started looking at the file and had the evidence staring right back at him.

"This is all very cute Miss de Medici." The man grumbled, shoving the paper away from him like had had suddenly become allergic to it. "But do you really think this little thing will ruin me." He laughed; obviously this hadn't been the first time he had been threatened.

"May not but it's enough to get a warrant to search your whole known database and employee activities." Tia smiled, sliding the paper across the table. She hadn't made it this far without being prepared. "I'm sure this company has a lot of dirty secrets that I will discover and take to court. Just think of all the profits and shareholders you'll loss while I rip you to shreds." Finally the man was listening to her carefully for once. He seized her up again, his face twisted in concentration, weighing the opinions in his mind.

"Alright." The man grunted, pulling out a check book and other forms. "I'm willing to negotiate."

"No negotiation will be necessary Duke Maddox." Tia smirked, handing him the folder she had been keeping carefully preserved. She slid it across the desk and tapped it gently. "These are the terms, you either like them or watch your profits drop to oblivion."


End file.
